Steven Universe: The rise of The Astral Bodies
by mohawkman78
Summary: A story about testing alliances, tempting fate, and trying to overcome the struggles of being aliens from space. Hopefully the bonds between them aren't broken in the process.
1. Chapter 1: New beginnings

**Hi guys! The story's finally here! Anyhow if you haven't read the story "The last Quartz" you really should. I know I know, I didn't fix a lot of the grammar mistakes and I'll at least try to give a brief overview of everything happened in this story, but if you have time you should see that so you can at least understand the plethora of the concepts within this story. Anyhow, here it is the beginning of a new story. I hope you guys enjoy, and please leave a review if ya can, thanks! Have a nice day guys! BTW any new comers, this has the gems classified with gender neutral pronouns like "they" instead of "she".**

As the grass blows, crickets chirp, and voices ring through the air. Steven groans slightly before opening his eyes, only to be met with a full moon in the middle of the night sky. His head throbbing and his body aching, he sits up, that's when the voices become clear.

"You should've destroyed that machine when we had a chance!" He heard Pearl shout.

"And for what? Just to destroy hundreds of hours of hard work?! You clods should've known better than to let a lethal gem roam around the planet all willy-nilly, it's not our fault when you decide to screw up!" He heard Peridot retort. That's when he turned around and found the gems only a few feet away in a circle. Peridot and Lapis had been on one side while the other Crystal gems had been faced against them on the other side

"Watch it short-stuff!" Bismuth threatened. Lapis then stepped in front of Peridot and narrowed their eyes.

"No, you 'watch it'." They said sternly.

"Enough!" Garnet said. All noise quickly died out as the eyes of the gems were immediately shifted towards them. "This fighting is pointless, as Crystal Gems we need to remain united. If we all break in moments of hardship then all of our enemies will leap at the opportunity. We need to be better then this." They said. The gems remained quiet, not daring to break the tension.

"Now-" They continued. "Does anyone have any idea of what the Quartz may have done after we were all poofed?" Garnet asked.

"I do." Steven said somewhat hesitantly.

"Steven!" The gems all collectively called out, just as they rushed over to him however he held out his hand and put on a brave smile.

"I'm fine." He said. He then turned his attention over to Garnet. "After everyone was... Poofed, Quartz picked up Peridot and Lapis' machine that's all I can remember." He said.

"Are you sure you're alright Steven? Do you need any help? If they hurt you I-"

"Guys enough." Steven interrupted in a rather serious tone. "I can handle myself." He said. Once more silence filled the night as they stared at almost an entirely new person.

"Steven, what's gotten into you?" Pearl asked. Before he could respond however, Garnet raised a hand.

"This isn't the time." They said before getting on one knee and becoming eye level with Steven. He felt shivers up his spine as he stared into he reflection through their glasses.

"Steven, we are about to go through an incredibly dangerous time, we don't have any idea about what's going on or what the intentions of this gem are. It will be very dangerous,for everyone not just you. Can I trust that you'll be able to handle it?" Garnet asked. Steven paused for a moment before giving a false smirk of bravery.

"Garnet, I'm a crystal gem too! The Earth is my home, and I wanna defend it from whatever threat I can!" He exclaimed. Garnet then smirked before laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Then I'm going to expect much of you." They said before rising back to their feet.

"Garnet are you sure that this is a good idea?" Pearl asked worriedly. Garnet then turned to them.

"He can handle it." Garnet said. Thus their planning continued.

"Well, back to the main point at hand, if this is all about information then I can probably find something off of the ship parts that Quartz crashed into the barn." Peridot suggested.

"I think I also spotted a hole in the ground not too far off from here, could lead to something big." Bismuth said.

"Alright then. Peridot, Lapis, go to the barn and dig up whatever information you can find. Bismuth lead us to the hole." Garnet firmly stated.

"Alright!" Bismuth said excitedly as the two groups parted ways.

* * *

After a bit of running the gems managed to reach the hole. It looked as though it ran deep into the Earth though it was somewhat difficult to see during the night. It also seemed to be a big enough size to fit a grown man which unfortunately meant that Bismuth, being far larger than an average human, couldn't fit.

"Bismuth." Garnet said.

"Oh! Right. Heh, just like old times." They said before shrinking down to a more suitable size.

"Steven, it'd probably be best if you sat this one out." Garnet said, turning their attention to Steven.

"Aww, why can't I go? I can fit." He said.

"It's not about fitting, this hole could be miles deep and that means molten rock, you're bubble can't fit down here which means you have no way of defending against it. Not only that, Quartz could also be down here, that's far too risky." They stated.

"I can adjust my bubble's size, also what happens if down there one of you gets hurt or even cracked? I can help, please just let me." Steven pleaded. Garnet stared at him for a brief moment before adjusting their glasses.

"Fine. But remember, be safe!" Garnet said. They then turned their attention to the group as a whole. "Gems, let's move!" They said before leaping into the hole.

"You heard the gal, let's go!" Bismuth said as they also jumped down.

"It's like a giant slide!" Amethyst said before laughing as they dove head first into the hole. Pearl then turned their attention back to Steven.

"You don't have to do this you know. We want you to be safe, it'd probably be better if you stayed." They pleaded, a soft expression painted across their face.

"I'm a Crystal Gem too Pearl. Where you guys go, I'll go!" He said. Tears began falling from Pearls eyes at that notion. Steven couldn't help but to feel a surge of concern.

"Pearl?" He asked.

"It's nothing!" They said as they then elegantly jumped into the hole. Steven reached out but by the time that he did it was too late. He let out a sigh before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Alright Steven. You can do this, don't let everyone down... Please." He said before he then went over to the hole." A bubble then manifested around him before he slowly rolled over and descended into the darkness.

* * *

Rummaging through garbage most certainly wasn't an exciting task but for Peridot this was standard. Going through different pieces and mechanisms and trying to identify where they went and how they all fit together was less than child's play to any sort of Peridot.

What made the task heartbreaking to go through with however was the fact that what they were rummaging through wasn't just garbage. It was their home, their shared home with a dear friend as a matter of fact. The ship had done much more damage to the barn then they initially thought and unfortunately that led to it collapsing entirely.

What little structure had been left of the building fell as soon as they stepped foot on the wreckage. Now with the help of Lapis they had to sift through all that remained.

"Oh no!" They shouted.

"What!? What happened, did something hurt you?" Lapis asked, rushing over in a mere matter of moments.

"Look!" Peridot shouted as they pulled a large piece of a strange black object out of the wreckage. Lapis looked at it for only two seconds before deeming it to be irrelevant.

"I have no idea what I'm looking at right now." They stoically said.

"You don't? It's the TV! Oh no, all of our Pinehearts, how are we going to watch it now!?" They shouted dramatically. Lapis sighed as a smile came over them.

"I'm surprised that a tech expert like you is worried about all of that." Lapis said while shaking their head. "Couldn't you just build a new TV? It'd probably be better." Lapis said.

"But it wouldn't be the same! The small cracks, the little chips, the static like noise whenever an episode played. It's all gone now!" Peridot said.

"Yeah, just like the rest of our stuff. All because of them..." Lapis said angrily. Peridot turned their attention towards them, discarding the wreckage in their hands.

"Hey. We can't blame everything on them." They said lightly.

"Can't we?! After all, they're the reason this new gem became loose! They're the reason that another gem came and tried to poof you. They're the reason why I was..." They began to shake as they recounted thousands of years of imprisonment.

"Lapis, I didn't know that was still bothering you..." Peridot said at a loss for words.

"Oh yeah, well it is!" Lapis shouted, tears now flooding through their eyes. "And those gems are the reason why! Steven's the only thing that kept me here but now... It just seems like he wants to give everyone a chance, no matter who they are, and no matter what they've done in the past! Look at where it got us!" They shouted.

"Lapis please calm down. I-it may look bad but I'm sure there's a way out of this." Peridot said hopefully.

"There is." Lapis said as they then took a step closer to them. Though Peridot was very anxious, they didn't move back. Lapis wiped their tears.

"We should go somewhere else, build a new home. Far from the rest of the gems." They said.

"Lapis, we can't. How are we supposed to work with the gems if we're far away?" Peridot asked.

"That's the point! We don't have to work with them or be near them! We can just fly somewhere else like the moon! That way we don't have to deal with all of their problems. We could build another machine and become powerful enough to defend Earth on our own!" They said excitedly.

Peridot considered it for a moment. They turned their attention towards the moon, though there weren't too many resources directly on the rock, space was more than full of different star systems that could help with that. Not only that but a distant part of them longed to see the stars once more. To explore space and to discover and create new technology. However, another thought did pop into their mind.

"W-what about Steven? He didn't do anything." Peridot said.

"That's the point! If he and the other's had done something our house wouldn't have been destroyed." Lapis replied. Afterwards they were silent for a moment, looking towards the ground before letting out a sigh. "Look, I see him as important too. He helped me in one of the worst times of my life and freed me. I'll always owe him no matter what I do. But the other's... I can't be around them, especially not _her_. Not the one who put me in the mirror." Lapis said.

"I-Is that what this is all about? Is it all j-just because they brought the gem who trapped you in that mirror?" Peridot struggled to ask. Lapis' eyes shifted downwards.

"Would it be wrong if it was?" Lapis asked. Peridot simply stared at them. They tried their best to think of the best words to say but their mind simply became blank in that moment.

"I don't know." They said. Peridot then turned back towards the wreckage. "I really don't." They said under their breath.

* * *

Sliding down the hole was taking longer than everyone had hoped it would. As they slid, Garnet also made sure to note the peculiar shaping of the hole. How it sloped diagonally and appeared to be carved out with an explosion of some sort.

As they noted that, Steven thanked the stars as he'd luckily been protected by his bubble, something that no one questioned in terms of usefulness. It would prove just how essential it was once they reached the molten section of the Earth. Upon seeing this section, Steven instantly realized just how close they were, smiling somewhat as he recounted his experience with Peridot inside of the drill.

He was proved right as soon after they reached this section a large dark hole appeared in the distance.

"Everyone, brace for landing!" Garnet yelled as the hole grew in size. Soon everyone managed to slip through it and upon doing so they were once more immersed in darkness. They began to plummet downwards and Steven couldn't help but to yell out, uncomfortable with the notion of free falling, the likes of which was lasting much longer than he anticipated it would.

The only source of light had been his bubble and as a result he couldn't see the other gems, which was added to his building nauesa. Eventually he did reach solid ground, in one of the more painful ways. With a loud thud his bubble completely burst as his body met with the Earth. He groaned in pain, holding his side as he rose to his feet.

"Steven?" He heard Pearl cry from a distance. "Are you ok? It's so dark in here I can't see a thing!" They noted.

"Gems, let's brighten things up!" Garnet said. With that four lights began illuminating the dark hole they'd somehow fallen into. The light was bright enough to cover the distance between Steven and the others.

"Guys! I'm over here!" He shouted, waving in the distance, a smile on his face as the gems rushed over.

"You ok dude?" Amethyst asked.

"I'm fine, just a little banged up from the fall." He then looked upwards at the dark, seemingly endless, void that surrounded them. "What is this place?" He asked.

"Didn't you and Peridot come down here before? How do you not know?" Amethyst asked, looking around as well.

"Well when we came it was in the drill. Not only that, the cluster was the first thing that we hit. If it was here, it should've lit up the entire area." He responded. Pearl looked at Garnet with caution painted across their face. Garnet reciprocated the notion as they then began to walk in front of the gems, the rest of them following in their path.

They began walking around, searching for any signs of gems or life even. At one point Garnet stopped however, halting the rest of the gems. After doing so, they looked downwards for a moment.

"Garnet? You feeling alright?" Bismuth asked as they noticed Garnet shutter slightly.

"Come look at this." Was all they had to say. Bismuth walked over to their side and widened their eyes.

"Woah... What could have done this?" They asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's going to be a problem." Garnet said.

"Uh guys, I don't know what you're talking about but, look!" Steven shouted, pointing upwards. The rest of the gems turned their attention towards that direction and were alarmed as tiny specks of yellow light began to shine through the darkness. It started out as only a dozen of them, but more and more began to shine through and soon the entire ceiling seemed to be illuminating this light.

A loud buzzing also began to ring through the air, deciding not to tempt fate Garnet turned to their right and saw a nearby wall.

"Everyone! This way! NOW!" Garnet yelled as they then rushed over to Steven, picking him up before bolting in the direction of the wall. The rest of the gems followed suit, only stopping once they'd reached the wall of dirt.

"Amethyst, turn into a drill and make an exit. Be sure to move in unpredict-" before Garnet could finish however, a beam of white light flew past their face and burned a hole through the nearby wall.

With that, Amethyst quickly turned into a large drill, big enough to house all of the gems.

"Hope in!" They shouted and soon everyone was on board. They then began to drill through, the drill making loud noises as they tried to zig-zag and curve amdtried to move in the most unforeseeable pathway. Meanwhile Garnet put Steven down.

"Steven, use your bubble to surround us, we don't know how dangerous those lasers are." They said.

"Right!" Steven replied, he then spread out his arms and a large bubble surrounded the drill, excluding the main part used to drill through the dirt. This was noticeably waning on him however the strain didn't seem to matter as soon the buzzing began to return with a new sound.

The sound had been a loud, ear piercing noise that rang through all of their ears, louder than that of Amethyst. It sounded as though thousands of drills were beginning to surround them from all sides.

"Amethyst, do you know how close we are to the surface?" Garnet shouted over all of the other unbearably loud sounds.

"Not a clue!" Amethyst replied.

They continued to drill, and as they did all of the other gems could hear the other noises beginning to close in on them. It felt as though the very Earth was beginning to shake and just before all of the sounds could reach them, they were met with the night sky.

Amethyst flew into the cold air before crashing down and shifting back. They all then crashed onto the ground, Steven's bubble bursting once more in the process.

"Whoo! We escaped!" Amethyst shouted, rising to their feet.

"What was tha-" Garnet was interrupted as the ground began to shake and not too long afterwards, they were met with their enemies, all of which were illuminated by the moonlight.

Their bodies were all the same, sleek and shiny grey metal in the shape of an insect. They were like beetles, their eyes glowing a bright yellow and their wings flapping at ridiculous speeds, with a noise that pierced the ears of all those who were near.

Hundreds, if not thousands of them flew into the air and not one of them even made a passing glance towards the gems as they appeared to be journeying into the stars above. None of the gems even wanted to attempt to stop them, as their sheer numbers alone were enough to seemingly destroy any and all who decided to stand in their way.

Eventually however the metallic creatures stopped emerging from the abyss, leaving a hole larger than that of the barn. As the creatures and loud buzzing sound that they made faded away in the distance, the gems simply stared, still shocked at the sight that they had just witnessed.

"Holy stars! What was that!" The gems collectively jumped as they turned towards the direction of the sound only to find that it'd been Peridot who'd been floating an a large hand of water alongside Lapis.

"Wait, you didn't know what that was?!" Steven asked, as Peridot and Lapis hovered closer to them.

"No! Well I mean, I have an idea of what it might be. After all that's what we were coming to tell you! But what the heck was all of that stuff?!" Peridot shouted.

"We don't have a clue, nor do we have time. Did you find anything concerning the ship?" Garnet quickly asked.

"Y-yes! I mean we did. Home-World apparently was working on something. More specifically however, The Diamonds were working on something. From what I've gathered from the hard-drive of the ship, it was really important. No one but them were allowed to know the specifics, but the Diamonds did say that this project had been in the works for over a millennia and was going to be the start of a new era!" Peridot said.

The notion of whatever that project could've been alongside the idea that those creatures could've come from Home-World was enough to send shivers down everyone's spine. No one spoke a word as their minds collectively imagined the worst possibilities and the horrific atrocities that Home-World could've been planning. That was until Garnet decided to speak up. They turned towards the rest of the gems.

"Crystal Gems, listen up!" They shouted, and everyone stood in attention. "I'll be the first here to say that even with my future vision, I don't know what's going on. I don't know how bad it's going to get. And I don't know what Home-Worlds planning. What I do know however is that what matters is right here and right now! We are the Crystal Gems and we're here to protect Earth and Rose's legacy! No matter what happens, no matter what battles we win or lose I want all of you to remain strong. Because by days end, mark my words. Those Home-World gems will be shaking in their boots once they see just how big of a threat we are." Garnet promised.

 **Whoo-hoo! First chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Jumpstart

After Garnet's speech the gems all warped back to the beach house for the night. Though Lapis and Peridot were rather hesitant to do so, Garnet argued that not only was their journey going to be difficult from this point on but they also didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. With that knowledge the two couldn't argue and thus made the decision to stay with the rest of the gems, at least until the threat from Home-World was properly dealt with.

That night, once everyone had finally assorted themselves, Garnet made an executive decision.

"Alright gems, we've all had a rather long day. It'd probably be best if we all rested and then planned tomorrow any further objectives and actions that should be taken. Any objections?" Garnet asked. Not a sound pierced through the room after they did. "Good. Bismuth, come with me. We have something to discuss." Garnet said as they then turned their backs towards everyone and approached the main door of the temple. Both of their gemstones emanated a bright light and an entrance to the burning room was made.

Bismuth was slightly confused, however they didn't object to their orders. "Whatever you say. Night, gems!" Bismuth said as they entered with Garnet following behind them. The room door then closed shut.

"Well goodnight everyone. I hope that we'll be successful in our endeavors tomorrow." Pearl said as they then quickly made their way to the door as well.

"Wait, Pearl?" Steven said, reaching a hand out to them. They turned to face him, piercing his eyes with their own. A somber and dejected feeling struck Steven as they did so.

"Yes Steven?" Pearl said, a plastic smile being carefully crafted on their face. There was silence as Steven tried to look for the words to say.

"Have a good night." He said finally, crafting a fake smile of his on.

"You too Steven" Pearl responded tenderly as they then turned towards the door. Their gem glowed a bright white as the door smoothly slid open. Revealing a wondrous world of elegant waterfalls. They walked inside and once more the door quickly shut behind them.

The rest of the gems all collectively stared back at Steven.

"Uh, what was that about?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah, that was one of the most awkward things I've ever seen. Are you two ok?" Lapis asked.

"Um, yes? No? I don't know, it's really complicated and I don't really know what I should do." Steven said frantically, his hands combing through his hair.

"What are you talking about? Has Pearl been getting on your nerves again. She can be such a drag." Amethyst said in a rather irritated fashion.

"No! It's not that it's just... It's nothing, let's just leave it alone." Steven said.

"Ook dude. Well, when you wanna talk, you know where I'm at." Amethyst said before yawning they then lazily walked back over to the door, pulling their shirt down and having their own gemstone glow. The door opened, revealing a room that was full of garbage.

"Night guys!" Amethyst said before they then walked into their room and finally shut the door behind them.

"And then there were three." Lapis said. Peridot giggled slightly.

"I knew you had a funny side." Peridot muttered.

"I show you my funny side all of the time. You just don't pay attention." Lapis said.

"I do so pay attention!" Peridot remarked.

"Not important. Steven, if there's something bothering you, I hope you always know that we're here for you. If you ever need to talk it out with someone just come to us. You can trust us." Lapis insisted with genuine warmth being attached to their words.

"Right! I know that I've had my fair share of earthly problems. Sometimes I blow it out of proportion and make it way worse than it actually is!" Peridot said.

"You can say that again." Lapis muttered.

"I can but I won't!" Peridot nearly shouted.

"Thanks guys but... I think I'll be able to figure this one out on my own. Anyway, it's nice to have you guys here. I hope you can enjoy yourselves while your here." He said before he then went over to the door as well. He then lifted his shirt up and with enough focus, a pink light began to brightly emanate from his gemstone and subsequently the door opened to reveal a world of clouds. Steven then faced back towards the two and smiled.

"I think I'll sleep here for the night! See ya!" He said as he then walked inside.

"Goodnight Steven." Lapis said.

"Goodnight! Sweet dreams!" Peridot said as the door finally shut, leaving just the two of them.

"Well then, I guess it's just you and me Lapis!" Peridot said.

"Yep, just you and me. Come on." Lapis said, outstretching their hand towards Peridot.

"Uh, where are we going?" Peridot asked.

"Out there, to the sea." Lapis said, pointing towards the dark ocean which affectionately reflected the light of the moon.

"Ok then. But I don't know what you're hoping to find out there." Peridot said, grabbing hold of their hand as they both then walked outside into the open.

"Trust me, you're gonna love this place." Lapis said. With that Lapis released Peridots hans before gently wrapping their arms around them. Then, making sure to keep a tight grip on Peridot, Lapis flew the both of them into the air at rapid speeds before diving back down into the deep and dark sea.

* * *

 **The burning room**

"You know Garnet. After facing Home-Worlds armies head on and keeping a smile on my face. After serving with my fellow gems, arm and arm. After all of the time that I've spent bubbled and kept away from the rest of the world. I never would've thought that I'd be seeing them like this." Bismuth said, eyes buried within the hundreds of bubbles that occupied that burning room. Sympathizing with the sorrow that is accompanied with being confined to such a small space.

"Neither did I." Garnet said with a similar amount of sorrow. "All of them fought in support of their cause and payed the price for it. Everyday I think about freeing them, restoring them to who they once more. It gives me drive to push back more and more against Home-World."

"Maybe we can find a way once we stop them." Bismuth turned towards them.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Lately you've been reckless Bismuth." Garnet said.

"Reckless? In what way?" Bismuth asked in disbelief.

"Attacking Peridot? Attacking Lapis? Threatening Peridot over the machine? Bismuth I need you to be better then this." Garnet said.

"Oh... You're right, I have been letting my anger get the best of me." Bismuth said.

"Yes you have! And just like in the past when Rose needed you to step up, to be a leader, to guide new recruits; I need you to be a leader now, I need your help Bismuth. The weight, the management, it's all so difficult even with future vision. Not only that but lately I've been making more and more wrong decisions and judging by the possible futures that we have available to us, it can all get so much worse. That's why I need you to be better, I need your help. Just like in the past." Garnet said. They looked down, their fist shaking from how tightly they'd been clenched as Garnet finally relayed to another the weight of being a leader.

Their words resonated within Bismuth. They took much pride in them, knowing that Garnet, this nearly unbreakable being, needed their help was more than enough to convince them that they should give it to them.

"Hey" Bismuth said resting a hand upon Garnets shoulder. "Just like old times right?" Bismuth asked, a reassuring smile appearing on their face. Garnet looked up at them and smiled back.

"Yeah, just like back then." Garnet said.

"Don't worry about it Garnet. I'll make sure to manage my anger. It's just that certain things about Rose still bother me you know? How could she keep me trapped away or have so many secrets, all just kept to herself?" Bismuth asked. Garnet directed their attention to ceiling of the burning room.

"I don't know." They sighed. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter though. Rose had many terrible qualities about her, hopefully those don't pass on to Steven. All I know is that for now I am needed by the gems. I need to lead them. For Earths sake." Garnet said.

"Speaking of which... You got any idea what creatures made those holes back there?" Bismuth asked wearily. Garnet shivered upon recounting the sight.

"I don't think that any gem could've done that... Whatever it was, I hope that we don't come across it anytime soon." Garnet said.

"You sure it wasn't just those Home-World bots?" Bismuth asked.

"No. Those bots wouldn't have made that hole. If they were there, it was to check on the cluster. Whatever did that was looking for a way out, and if I'm right about that, it means that we have a lot more to deal with after we get through with Home-World." Garnet said

* * *

 **Stevens room**

Steven rested upon a cloud, looking into the rose colored sky in disarray. His mind had been swarming with numerous topics since the moment that he awoke from being rendered unconscious, not the least of which was Quartz who was almost at the forefront of his thoughts.

He couldn't tell why he'd been so interested in them, what about them made him so curious. A piece of him new that it was because they'd been willing to spare everyone, Steven was more than happy to see that all of the gems were alive and well and even without any cracks upon being reformed. Quartz appeared so strong in their ideology and though he didn't appreciate the violent tendencies that they had, it was their actions and beliefs that truly resonated with him.

He felt almost as though the entire time that they were there, they were attempting to teach him something. Teach him new skills and thought processes and possibly how to be a leader. He looked over to another cloud, the likes of which had reminded him of his mother. He let out a sigh of distraught.

"Why couldn't we have just been friends Quartz? With all of us combined, there's no way that Home-World could've stopped us." He muttered to himself. He knew that wasn't the case however.

Even if they'd all been together, even if they could've beaten back Home-World, even if they could fight all of the Diamonds and win, Quartz still wanted to shatter enemy gems. Even if Steven was willing to use violence as a last resort, he'd never allow himself to actually shatter another gem. The thought of which reminded him of his own mom and how they did so many centuries prior to his birth.

The thought of a diamond being shattered at their hands was enough to give him goosebumps. He hated the idea of them doing such a destructive act but the more that he gave it thought, the more that he understood why they'd done it. It's why he could understand Quartz. The Diamonds were terrible, and seeing as how Quartz was strong enough in both mental and physical properties to defeat all of the gems out of just the chance that Quartz may one day be able to shatter them, maybe they did deserve it. If someone hated them enough to devote their entire lives to shattering them or even like his mother, rebelling against them, then maybe they were truly nonredeemable.

Steven dismissed the thought almost as abruptly as it had entered. He then rose to his feet, not feeling tired in the slightest. He knew that he needed to get stronger and to do that he needed to know what his mom could do. Maybe then he could figure out a way to be just as powerful if not more so than her. With that in mind he also assumed that maybe the room could give him answers, thus he created a companion for himself.

"Tiny floating whale!" Steven shouted and immediately, through a burst of clouds, a tiny red whale was made. Steven awed at just how adorable it'd been, remembering that it seemed to be connected to the room, he began to ask questions.

"Hey little buddy, remember me?" Steven asked. The whale nodded and smiled.

"Hehe that's great! Anyway, do you think you could tell me somethings. I know that you're kind of connected to the room and everything and I have some questions. You'd know a lot of things right? He asked.

The whale then shook it's head.

"Oh... So you mean, you can't answer all of my questions?" He asked.

The whale then shook it's head once more.

"Can you answer any of my questions?" He asked.

The whale then shook it's head. Steven frowned.

"Well, I guess that's out of the equation then." He said under his breath. "Room, I want to be let out of here!" He said. A doorway was made for him, leading back into the temple, he walked through and was met with an empty living room. He furrowed his brow as he looked for the gems that he'd left there.

"Hello? Lapis? Peridot?" He yelled, yet there was no one in sight. "I'm sure they're fine." He said to himself. "Lion!"

Almost immediately after his call his lion ran up the steps. Upon realizing just how fast it was going, he rushed over to the door and opened it just before the beast could knock it down with its sheer weight.

"Jeez, you seem rather energetic today. I need you to take me to mom's armory. Do you think you can do that?" He asked. After commanding such, Lion bowed before him, almost as if granting him passage.

"Good boy!" He said as he quickly hopped on. After he'd adjusted himself comfortably, Lion let out a loud and booming roar; the likes of which was enough to shake the house. It made a portal and Lion took a few steps back before quickly leaping through it.

Waves of bright light and wind flew past Stevens face as he and lion flew through the stream before eventually landing on a rather hard surface. After doing so Steven looked around at the cave, smiling as he recalled coming here with Connie.

He looked down and realized that Lion was standing on the pad which housed the pedestal that controlled this place and thus he dismounted.

"Alright cave. Maybe you can teach me a little gem history." He said to himself as the pedestal rose from the ground.


	3. Chapter 3: Let's get creative!

The next morning Steven had returned to the beach-house, atop of Lion. He didn't feel a hint of tiredness and while it was alarming, he did at least appreciate the fact that he was able to train inside the armory for such a long stretch of time.

A tinge of anger flowed through him as he remembered finding a library within the armory but being unable to read any of the books because their pages had been filled with gibberish. Not even the letters within them appeared to be English. Thus he simply spent all of his time practicing his abilities. Attempting to work on his bubble and shield powers so that he could sustain them for longer, or in the case of his bubble, make them smaller.

He did manage to make decent progress, though it was rather difficult to shrink the bubble. Seeing as when he made even a tiny mistake and became distracted it popped in its entirety. Unfortunately it took the entire night to get to the level of shrinkage he desired. Something that Steven noticed as the sun shined it's bright light upon him.

That's also when he remembered that he was supposed to be there in the morning for planning.

"I'm late!" He shouted. He then quickly dismounted Lion and ran up the stairs leading to the front door. The moment he swung the door open however, he found that all of the gems had already begun planning without him. Even Peridot and Lapis, which did strike him as odd seeing as how they weren't there the night before.

"Steven. You're late." Garnet said.

"I know, I'm sorry I was just-"

"No buts Steven." Garnet said, holding up a hand. "No matter what you're doing, you can't be late to these types of things. They're important and the situation is serious. Make sure not to be late again." Garnet said.

Hearing those words coming from Garnet was strange for everyone. Not because of the words themselves, but because of who they were directed towards. Even Steven felt a peculiar feeling within his stomach as he took a seat on the couch next to the others. It'd been one of the first times that Garnet had ever chastised him like that before. Garnet then continued.

"Regardless as I said before. Peridot, I need for you to build a machine that will be able to detect when alien machinery enters the atmosphere. Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis, if anything does enter the atmosphere then I need for you three to go and determine what it is and deal with the situation accordingly. Bismuth and I have important matters concerning the barn that we need to take care of. Any questions?" Garnet asked.

Steven then raised his hand.

"Yes Steven?" Garnet asked.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"That's a good question Steven. Everyone, listen up! Quartz was able to beat all of us but it wasn't through sheer force or luck. She used her gem abilities to her advantage; shape-shifting, manipulation, improving her senses, all of these things are important. It's come to my attention that we've become stuck in a rut, trying to fight our enemies using the same methods and recently, it's been making our attacks predictable. Therefore Steven, you, as well as every other gem, should try and hone your abilities. Train, get creative. Amethyst, you love shape-shifting, see if you can incorporate that in your fighting and maybe combine it with your flame abilities. Pearl use your holograms and mastery over different weapons in combat." Garnet explained.

"But wait, Garnet. I... I don't really know how I'm supposed to become stronger. I don't even know what my mom could do." Steven replied. Garnet then turned and looked at him. As they stared at him they then removed their glasses and smiled.

"Steven... Rose had the ability to love organics so much, that they naturally loved her back. Where she went animals, insects, plants, everything followed in her path. That's something that you can work on, as well as shape-shifting and your shield. Remember everyone, don't be afraid to get creative." Garnet said. They then put their glasses back on.

"Wait a minute. What am I supposed to do after I build this glorified space metal detector?" Peridot asked. Garnet looked at them for a moment.

"I... I don't really know, technology isn't my thing." Garnet said.

"I could teach you a thing or two!" Bismuth said excitedly.

"Pssh. Please? What could a Bismuth teach a Peridot?" Peridot skeptically questioned as they folded their arms. Bismuth laughed heartily.

"Ah you guys are funny! Don't ya know that Bismuth's are the best weapon and armor smiths for star systems? Heck, we've built entire cities before." Bismuth said.

"Y-you did?" Peridot asked in surprise.

"Well sure we did! It's about something that all you new gems don't have. Finesse. Being able to properly combine magic with matter. I can teach you if you want." Bismuth offered.

"Well... Of course it couldn't hurt to learn something new." Peridot hesitantly said, as they approached Bismuth. As the two of them began to talk a knock on the door echoed throughout the room.

"I'll get it!" Steven said as he then approached the door, to his surprise it'd been a friend of his that he hadn't seen in a while.

"Connie!" Steven shouted as he swung the door open.

"Hey Steven!" Connie said as she embraced him in a hug that he hadn't been expecting. "How's it been? Is everything ok? Did you take down the corrupted monster?" Connie asked in rapid fire motion. As she did Steven then remembered that she hadn't been there for all of the events that had transpired up until that point.

"Hey guys!" Steven called out to the rest of the gems, they turned their attention towards him.

"I think I'll head out now. Is that ok?" He asked.

"It's fine Steven, make sure to train well!" Garnet said.

"Good luck." Bismuth yelled.

"Bye, dude!" Amethyst yelled as well. Steven waved goodbye back to all of the gems as he then closed the door and began walking with Connie, telling her about all of the events leading up to this point.

"Woah! You guys released Bismuth?" Connie asked.

"Yeah it was pretty crazy. Then we found Quartz and this big battle happened and uh we kind of lost. Then we found out that Home-World's actually planning to do something with the Earth so now we're kind of tense. Garnet says that we should prepare by training." Steven said.

"Sounds like a lot of work. Do you need any help. I can train with you!" Connie said excitedly. As soon as she did though, Steven couldn't help but to feel an increasing amount of nervousness make its way through him. He took a couple of steps back.

"Yeahh. I think that we're fine. You don't really need to worry about it." Steven said. A confused look painted itself across her face.

"What do you mean Steven? We're a team aren't we? If there's a threat from Home-World I wanna help you stop it!" Connie enthusiastically asserted.

"I uh.. I don't really know if.." Steven tried to find the words to say, but it seemed as though the more he looked into Connie's eyes, the more dejected she became.

"Lion!" He then shouted and quickly Lion sprinted over to him. With even realizing it, he hoped onto Lion and prepared to ride into the armory. "I'm sorry! Don't try to call, my phone was stolen!" Steven shouted. He then signaled for Lion to roar and thus he did, making a portal into the armory before the two quickly hurdled through it.

Within the next few moments Lion had already landed atop the pad within the cave. Steven let out a deep sigh as he then dismounted his pet.

"Ah jeez, I didn't want to do that. But I'm worried Lion... Connie's human, she can get hurt and you heard Garnet, this is serious... I wonder if this is what mom would do." He said to himself. He sat in silence for the next few moments, questioning himself as water dripped from the damp ceiling down to the water below. That's when he let out another sigh.

"Well... I guess it's too late now. Only one thing that I can do." He said. He then turned to his fingers and with concentration he turned his index finger into a cat.

"Try to be better!" He declared. Practice was now in session.

* * *

Beach-House

Lapis and Peridot examined the scene from a distance. Garnet and Bismuth had warped away to the barn, and Pearl and Amethyst went to a place they called 'The Ruins'. That left the two of them to witness Steven ride into a portal with Lion, and to see Connie and her sorrows as she slowly walked home.

"Jeez. I feel bad for her. Maybe we sh-"

"No." Lapis cut off. "Connie is a human, she shouldn't interfere with anything gem-related and she should know that."

"B-but what about all of the times that she's helped Steven before? And you can't forget about the time that all three of us went on an adventure." Peridot argued.

"The Three of us, didn't go an adventure. And the last time I really saw Connie help Steven, was when I was drowning the both of them in a bubble. She's got no business here. Leave her be." Lapis said. Peridot looked down, fumbling with their fingers.

"Well... Alright then I suppose." They said begrudgingly.

"Anyway. What did Bismuth show you?" Lapis asked. They hadn't been paying attention during the explanation. Peridots eyes lit up as they began to explain.

"Oh it was amazing!" Peridot said as their tablet floated towards them. They quickly grabbed it. "Bismuth showed me how to incorporate gem magic into technology. Merging our ability to control matter and energy into items! Even if it's in small proportion. This explains how the Crystal Gem rebellion was able to be so effective! They had a master on their side who could make swords that would literally catch on fire!" Peridot exclaimed.

Their excitement was enough to put a smile on Lapis' face. "Well I guess that would explain where they got their weapons from. Do you think that it can be used with anything, not just weapons and armor?" Lapis asked.

"Yes! That's what makes it so amazing. Anything, from liquids to solids, to gases! You can incorporate magic into them and grant them different properties! Bismuth stated that they never truly found a way to do any of those things, but now that I've got the formula written down and memorized, it'll be a piece of cake!" Peridot said.

"Well that sounds great. I'm happy to know that you learned something new, maybe you can explain it to me sometime. Anyway, we've got some work to do. We should return to Oceanos." Lapis said. Peridots smile faded slightly as they then looked up towards Lapis.

"Ok. Sure, let's go." They said. As they did once before, Lapis took Peridot outside before flying the both of them into the air and submerging themselves deep into the sea. Connie had been far, but still within enough distance to witness the sight of it all.

* * *

The Ancient Sky Arena

Pearl stared ahead of themselves, letting out deep and slow breaths. Trying to recover from their exhaustion. Amethyst did the same, the two stared each other down as the clouds circled them in an almost crowd-like manner.

"You know... I remember every single animal that I've ever come across Pearl. You should give up before you get hurt." Amethyst cockily said. Their attitude however was understandable. After all, they were in the shape of a large ,420 pound, purple Lion with a mane made of rich and beautiful purple flames. The likes of which curled off of them and licked the air above.

Pearl stood in opposition to them, a smile easing onto face. "I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch Amethyst. The tide of a battle can change in an instant." They lectured. In both hands they gripped two blades which had been coated in a layer of white moving light. Four Holo-pearls surrounded them, each of which wielding their own blade and half as skilled as the original.

"If you think that's so true then prove it!" Amethyst shouted, a purple glint beamed in their eye as they charged forwards at astronomical speeds. Just as they reached Pearl, they retaliated. Pearl stabbed forwards, a move which was a crucial mistake as Amethyst dodged and swiped downwards at them, roaring as they did so.

Pearl narrowly escaped the blow. An explosion of flames erupting from the swipe as it struck the ground. A Holo-Pearl caught them and the three others pursued Amethyst.

Amethyst growled, swiping at the other Holo-Pearls which forced them backwards. Amethyst then turned around and pounced towards Pearl who once more dodged out of the way. Leaving a Holo-Pearl to be cut through. It was simply a projection however and thus it remained unharmed. Amethyst swiftly regained balance before pouncing a second time.

This time however as they leaped into the air, six swords propelled towards them in a large-scale thrust. They reflexively shifted into a fly, avoiding the blows before quickly rushing over to the original Pearl.

Just before Amethyst could reached them however, they shifted into a large Gorilla which had flames protruding outwards from it's back. Pearl stood back in shock as Amethyst roared like a beast before rising up and slamming their fist downwards.

Pearl quickly back-flipped out of the way of the blow. The other Holo-Pearls attempted to stab Amethyst. However they quickly moved back before jumping into the air and slamming down upon them.

This created an explosion of blue flames, one strong enough to knock Pearl off of their feet and propel them towards the pillars.

They stabbed into the ground to avoid falling off of the edge. They caught their breath before quickly looking up to see Amethyst charging them once more with blood-lust in their eyes.

Pearl rose and nimbly ducked under Amethyst hook. Afterwards they slashed at Amethyst back, a blow that did more damage due to the white energy surrounding their sword. Amethyst howled in pain as they felt the burns. They then swung their colossal fist backwards.

As they did so Pearl ducked under this attack as well, preparing to stab Amethyst in the abdomen mid-way through their turn. Before they could Amethyst expelled downwards flames from their mouth.

"Oh stars!" Pearl nearly shouted as they narrowly escaped the flames which actually managed to lick their shoes. They back-flipped away, putting distance between the two.

Amethyst began roaring and pounding their chest in a manner that Pearl found rather barbaric.

"This may be tougher than I thought." They said. Amethyst then charged them once more, this time shifting into a large, armored scorpion with flames around it's claws. "You've gotta be kidding me." Pearl said.

They then back-flipped out of the way of Amethyst tail, which pierced the ground. Upon landing, they quickly made two more Holo-Pearls. They then swiped at Amethyst and a wave of white energy slashed through the air, cutting everything in its path. Amethyst managed to jump out of the way before using their tail once more.

As Pearl continued dodging the blows, the two Holo-Pearls proceeded forwards. Amethyst however coated their tail in flames before striking the nearby ground with lightning speeds. Creating another explosion which clouded the area in smoke.

Pearl put up a guarded stance as they then wandered around, dispelling the holograms. The smoke was thicker than usual and clouded their vision heavily. That's when they heard the whistle of the tail, piercing through the air. They quickly side-stepped the attack which came from behind. They then attempted to strike the tail but it retracted backwards too quickly.

"Shoot." They said, that's when they heard the sound once more. Pearl dodged another blow from behind, the tail then retracted again before striking once more. Pearl continued dodging. Moving left, right, down, up, attempting to keep away from the viscous stinger. They found a way around this however.

They quickly empowered their swords, a white light flowed off of them brighter than before. They then began to spin around incredibly fast. After a while of spinning they proceeded to jump into the air in a form similar to a ballerina. Expelling all of that energy out in two spinning slash attacks.

The likes of which cleared out the smoke and managed to cut and damage the arena even further. When Pearl landed, they'd been breathing heavily, but as they looked around and eventually found their target, they smiled.

Amethyst had managed to dodge much of the attack. However the top half of their tail lopped off as a result of it.

"Ready to call a quits Amethyst?" Pearl asked as Amethyst growled in pain.

"Not a chance!" Amethyst replied. They then shifted into a large bear that towered over Pearl. They charged Pearl, who took on a defensive stance once more. Amethyst swiped at them, flames emerging from their claws. Pearl dodged, jumping over them and preparing to stab into their back.

Purple flames shot out from their back however. An attack that actually managed to damage Pearl as it burned a portion their right side. Pearl yelled, falling to the ground before swiftly backing away. They fell on their knee and began hissing at the pain. Holding onto their burned shoulder.

Their focus on the pain led them to ignore Amethyst however. A mistake that was detrimental as Amethyst then quickly rammed into Pearl. They were knocked a far distance away and onto their back. As Amethyst continued their charge however Pearl quickly opposed them.

Pearl hoped up, and using their blades, they slashed downwards. An attack that created a huge beam of light which had been far larger than before. It cut into the ground and moved at a faster speed than the previous one's.

Amethyst was too big to avoid this and so they shifted into a bird and maneuvered out of the way. As they charged forwards however, Pearl slashed once more. Amethyst then shifted into a large spider and maneuvered to the right. They continued their assault as Pearl slashed again, which led them to shift into a goat with large horns.

With all of their might, they charged forwards, preparing to ram them but Pearl slashed once more and this time Amethyst shifted into themselves as they dodged out of the way.

They fell onto their knees, breathing heavily as they tried to recover. Pearl did the same, their swords hung low in exhaustion. Amethyst then got up once more and stumbled forward only a few steps.

As soon as they reached Pearl they slowly moved their arm backwards before striking them with all of their might in the chest. A blow which actually didn't phase Pearl at all seeing as how Amethyst was incredibly tired.

"There... I win" Amethyst said, their fist still lightly touching Pearl. The two of them began chuckling at this, joyful at how far they'd come.

"Amethyst... I have to admit, I'm very proud of you." Pearl said. Amethyst looked up at them in surprise, their eyes watering a bit.

"Y-you really mean it?" Amethyst asked.

"I've always been proud of you... You could use shape-shifting in ways that I couldn't dream of. Up until recently though you've stopped. It felt like you were being someone who wasn't you, it's nice to see you back to how you were before." Pearl said. Their eyes then widened as Amethyst pulled them into a hug.

"I.. I always thought that you guys wanted me to be more like you... I thought you guys hated it when I shape-shifted." Amethyst said. Pearl hugged them back.

"No, of course not. I mean sure I got a bit annoyed about it but, it was something you enjoyed doing. I'd never want to take that away from you." Pearl said. Amethyst then gently pulled away from them and smiled.

"I never would've thought that you could use Holo-Pearls like that. Oh yeah and what was that cool energy beam slash thing! That was awesome!" Amethyst said excitedly. Pearl chuckled.

"That "energy beam slash thing" was the energy I always use in my spear. Remember how I can shoot out energy projectiles?" Amethyst nodded.

"Well, I can surround it onto my body. I never would've figured that I could use it in combination with my swords like that, but hey you learn something new everyday. My Holo-Pearls on the other hand are really difficult to control. I don't like to use them because they can fade away if I'm unfocused." Pearl said.

"Well when you used them this time, they were awesome! You should try that more often, our enemies would never see it coming!" Amethyst said.

"You should definitely use shape-shifting more often as well, I never would've figured that you could use fire like that." Pearl said.

"Oh yeah, that was a piece of cake. I've uh... I've definitely got a lot to improve on, I think I'm gonna try to combined forms and make a half spider half shark beast of total destruction!" Amethyst said, Pearl couldn't help but to smile at that statement.

"Yeah, I've got quite a bit to work on too. I think I'll try to use more weapons next time. But hey ,today was good. At least now we know what we're made of am I right?" Pearl asked, propping their arm out for a high five in a rather awkward manner. Amethyst chuckled at this notion.

"Heh, yeah I guess so." Amethyst said before slapping their hand onto Pearls. The two of them then observed the arena that they'd caused even more damage to. Craters, marks of explosions, and slashes littered the area.

"Do you think Garnet will be mad when she finds the arena like this?" Amethyst asked.

"Well, she wasn't made when you and Steven ruined it." Pearl said, as the two of them walked away from the battle worn ruins.

* * *

The Cluster hole

Garnet and Bismuth stared down the same hole that they had looked upon just the night before. The others hadn't seen it, but within the hole where the cluster had initially been, a second hole had been formed. It sent shivers through Garnet's spine just looking at it again. The hole was rather dark, not even the lights from their gemstones could fully illuminate it. The most frightening part of it being that it had the width of a large bus. While this did unnerve them to some extent, it made the two of them feel an even stronger sense of nostalgia.

"Heh... It's just like when we infiltrated that gem base, remember?" Bismuth asked. A smile painted itself onto Garnets face.

"Yeah. They had us beaten in the skies, so we had to travel underground." Garnet remembered.

"Jeez. What I would do to forget that memory, we had to fight through at least twenty different gems before we even got to the base!" Bismuth remarked.

"Heh yeah... Watch my back Bismuth." Garnet said.

"Hey, don't worry about it Garnet. Remember, when the stars align-"

"Our gems will shine" Garnet continued

"And the diamonds will fall!" They both said simultaneously.

"Ha! Lets' get going! After you." Bismuth said. Garnet nodded, they then took a few steps forward before leaping into the hole. Bismuth went in after them. The fall was seemingly endless and even with their gemstones glowing to their fullest, Garnet and Bismuth still couldn't see the bottom.

They continued to fall until they eventually hit ground. As soon as they did so the both of them rose and turned in opposite directions. They each scanned the area, making sure that no enemies could surprise either of them from behind. This made Bismuth chuckle even further.

"Memories, memories. Am I right?" Bismuth asked as the two of them stood back to back, circling around a perimeter.

"You should be a bit more serious about this Bismuth." Garnet retorted.

"Ah come on. Two hardened veterans of war going on a duo mission again. Heh, it almost feels too good to be true." Bismuth said. Garnet ignored them as they began to walk in a direction.

Even upon their landing, they still couldn't find any sort of ending in almost all directions but down. The very ground that they stepped on however was soft and somewhat moist. As Garnet led the two of them in a direction they couldn't help but to also take notice of how cold it'd been down there. A strange fact given that it should've been humid and at least somewhat hot given how deep underground they were.

"Hey Garnet, you seeing this?" Bismuth asked. Garnet however didn't turn to face them, they continued walking into darkness.

"What are you talking about?" Garnet replied.

"The ground. It's got these weird slugs crawling through it." Bismuth said. Garnet quickly looked down and while it did seem to be mostly vacant of life there did seem to be insects that would scurry across the ground every once in a while. Garnet couldn't see exactly what they were upon the first two times that they moved across their view. A few more times did reveal what they were however.

"Those are grub worms." Garnet remarked.

"Grub worms huh? I've never heard of those before. How'd you know?" Bismuth asked.

"Amethyst constantly used to turn into every animal that she could find. I guess I just memorized a lot of them from her." Garnet said.

"Really now? I never would've guessed so. I've never seen her shape-shift." Bismuth remarked.

"She used to do it much more in the past but... I suppose in recent years she's stopped." Garnet said. The two of them then walked in silence for a while until eventually Garnet stopped.

"Problems ahead?" Bismuth asked.

"Dead end. We need to head back." Garnet said.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Bismuth said. Garnet then extended out an arm in front of themselves.

"See for yourself." They remarked as they stood aside, revealing a large wall of dirt. It'd been incredibly moist and a few large sharp objects were stuck inside of it and the ground near it.

"Woah, what in the stars did this?" Bismuth asked as they approached the wall, Garnet however held out an arm in front of Bismuth.

"Careful, we don't know how dangerous this substance is." They remarked.

"Well even so, it's the first thing we've seen all day that's actually alien-like." Bismuth said.

"That is true. I wonder what actually made these holes, it couldn't have been those Home-World bots right?" Garnet asked.

"Not very likely, if it'd been them they probably would've made more clean marks on the ground. Whatever did this was probably a large worm or slug, the ground has patterns that are similar. Not only that but everything is wet down here." Bismuth stated.

"Not to mention cold. It could be a corrupted gem." Garnet said.

"Well even if it was a corrupted gem that only gives us more reason to take it out." Bismuth said.

"Agreed." Garnet then led the way back. That walk back was rather tedious. The two of them moving mostly in silence, taking in their surroundings and attempting to spot anything that could be a potential threat or clue as to what did this.

The darkness made this no easy task however, and they had to deal with that, as well as the suspense of running into whatever did this.

Eventually the ground began to become more and more drenched in a rather thick and adhesive liquid.

"Shoot, it's getting harder and harder to walk in this." Bismuth expressed as they pulled their drenched leg out from the ground. Garnet also had a difficult time but they kept their eyes focused straight ahead.

"Keep going, I see light drawing near" Garnet said. Bismuth then turned their attention upwards and sure enough, a bright green light, was drawing closer to them. They continued and trudged on, each step being harder and harder to pull out of.

"Hey Garnet, you think it'd be ok to shift into something that can fly so we don't have to deal with this?" Bismuth asked.

"Good idea, let's turn into birds. Make sure your wings are strong enough to escape being trapped." Garnet said. The two then quickly shifted into birds and with ease they flew straight into the light.

Within moments, the previously dark hole that they'd been traversing through became brightly illuminated. They were able to see that the walls and ceiling hadn't been too far away. It seemed as though a large bus could've fit into the hole. A rather worrisome fact.

As they both flew through the path, they each examined the walls and ceiling; noticing how they'd been drenched in a thick green slime. Stuck to these were also copious amounts of slime that took shape of a spheres. These appeared to be the source of the light as they were bio-luminescent and they were stuck to almost every surface. Sometimes there were even large bundles of them on one part of the wall or ceiling. These spheres appeared to convulse on random intervals.

They continued flying until they eventually entered into another area entirely. The ceiling and wall of this new area both expanded to extraordinary lengths. The area had been large enough to contain multiple two story buildings and slime as well as the glowing spheres occupied nearly every surface of the area.

Garnet and Bismuth were both met with a large grub worm which had been resting in the middle of the place. It was far larger than either of them would've imagined and it led to both of them questioning how it managed to fit through the places that it did. Assuming that it had been the creator of the tunnels that they went through.

It'd been drenched in the thick slime as well and seemed to have holes within it that produced the substance heavily. The slime around it seemed to twitch and almost move in organic fashions. The two both felt sheer terror as they tried to comprehend in the sheer size of it. It was easily comparable to that of three large buses and looked as though it weighed more than even that. Garnet however was more so worried than Bismuth.

"Bismuth." Garnet whispered. "We have to leave immediately."

"Are you sure?" Bismuth asked. "I think that we can take it."

"Bismuth.. Do you not see the size of that thing?" Garnet asked.

"I've punched holes in bigger and badder ships than that thing. I say that we rush it." Bismuth said.

"Bismuth, no, we're going back to the surface and we're getting out of here immediately." Garnet said.

"Whatever you say." Bismuth replied. The two of them then quickly flew back, not wasting a moment as they made their ways through the dark caves and crevices once more. Within moments they were back at the surface and moonlight shined down upon both of them as they reverted back to their base forms.

"Alright Garnet, what's our plan?" Bismuth asked.

"We tell the gems about it, and we deal with it after the Home-World incident has been resolved." Garnet stated.

"You ever seen something like that?" Bismuth asked.

"No, but whatever that was, let's just hope that there aren't more of them. Because of there are, Earth has a lot more problems than just Home-World." Garnet said.


	4. Chapter 4: The Wandering Steven

As Amethyst and Pearl sparred, Steven closed his eyes and held his breath. Through extending his arms to their maximum and pushing his body near it's limits he'd done it. He'd actually managed to achieve his goal.

Surrounding him, not in a spherical form, but instead in the shape of a second skin, had been what he originally referred to as the bubble. He opened his eyes, and they widened with joy as he looked at his arms which had been covered in the thick, translucent, pink armor.

He giggled and laughed before jumping into the air and falling flat onto his face. An action that caused the pad underneath him to shake a bit. He remained unharmed however, bouncing up in a quick manner and barely even blinking to the impact.

"Yes, I did it!" Steven shouted aloud, embracing his achievements. He then narrowed his eyes in an analytical fashion.

"Well, that's cool but what about...?" He dispelled his new bubble armor and instead closed his eyes once more. This time he focused as best he could, channeling the ability into only his hands. Within a few moments, he felt a bead of sweat slide down his forehead.

His body began to heat up in strain and he even began holding his breath. It wasn't long after that he heard his bubble materialize. Once more he opened his eyes; slowly, unsure of the result of his little experiment.

When he caught a glimpse of his hands his heart caught on fire. Stars gleamed through his eyes. He'd finally managed to achieve the powers he'd been working so hard on. Pink armor and now bubble gauntlets. He twisted and turned his hands, fascinated by the fact that a small, condensed bubble surrounded them.

With a bit more effort he managed to even force pink spikes to emerge from the bubbles exterior. An action that widened his grin even further. Thus he decided to test this out.

He took a few steps back, looking ahead to see where he wanted to go. After a few seconds, he charged forwards. Running at full speeds before jumping into the air.

Steven then pulled back one of his bubble engulfed fist and slammed it into the ground as hard as possible. The ground shook beneath the weight of his fist. He smiled at the new hole he had made. It'd been around the size of the bubble which he'd engraved into the ground.

Not the amount of damage that he'd been hoping for, but enough nonetheless. Afterwards he dispelled his gauntlets before letting out a sigh of relief and falling onto his sweat covered back.

Within moments, he'd heard the sound of his fur covered feline approaching him. Upon opening his eyes, he'd been looking into the beautiful mane of Lion.

"Did you see that Lion?" Steven asked, even with the knowledge that the question would garner little to no response.

"I was finally able to make a new move. With this, I'll be able to help the gems... I can finally do something if we get into battles besides throw my shield. And once I get shape-shifting involved, or some other crazy gem magic... Maybe I'll be on the same level as the others."

It'd been a wishful thought. One that he'd had for the longest time. Even now as he rested, staring up at the ceiling of his mothers cave, he couldn't help but to think that Rose had been so much greater than him.

Even with all of their flaws and mistakes, they led the gems, they fought Home-World, and they won. He knew he couldn't truly be like his mother, their time had passed, but he also knew how the gems looked at him. Even though they went on missions together and even though they called themselves a team. Every time that he was hurt, everyone surrounded him like a child. The thought of such was enough for him to ball his hand into a rage infused fist.

He wanted to be all of the good things that his mother couldn't be. But he also knew how hard it was to become that. After all, his mother had experienced so much more than him, and he also knew that his mother didn't lose fights. Therefore, he'd have to train. Alongside that, he'd probably have to explore.

If he ever managed to figure out how it was that his mother found a way to make nature love back, then maybe he'd be one step closer to being as amazing as they were. With that thought in mind, Steven sat up, knowing what he wanted to do next.

"Hey Lion, let's go." He said. Lion bent down in a kneeling posture. Steven then mounted him quickly and within moments they'd already been transported back to Earth.

Sunlight invaded his vision and he nearly fell off of Lion as he looked all around him. It almost felt as though his eyes had been taking in all of the beauty of the world. The deep blue of the sky, the enriching sounds of hungry seagulls, the calming waves of the ocean. All of which elicited emotions within him that resembled a newfound euphoria.

It only strengthened his resolve in what he should do. Dismounting Lion, Steven then approached and entered the Beach-House. Unsurprisingly, there'd been no one present. He sighed but did manage to smile nonetheless, knowing that while each gem was absent, they were doing their task to their best abilities.

And so it was his time to complete his own task, and explore. After filling up his backpack with more than enough food, Steven walked onto the warp-pad and turned to face the empty living room. A smile grazed his lips.

"This is gonna be a bit of a trip." He said. He then outstretched his hands and closed his eyes, the shining light of the warp submerging him within seconds.

* * *

Upon landing at his destination, Steven smiled. Before him had been a large garden, the likes of which had plants that were beautiful and appeared almost mythical. In the center of these plants had been a dome.

After walking through the plants and up the stairs, Steven was met with a star-shaped entrance. Once he passed it, he'd found an enriching fountain of life-giving essence. In the center, the statue of the gem that'd been on his mind. A statue that'd been in the shape of his mother. And from it's crevices, flowed the healing tears that could repair anything. Even the rips and tears of fabric.

Steven hadn't seen this place in a while. Though it wasn't as though he and the gems were constantly getting harmed or cracked so understood why they never saw it as necessary to visit. That line of thinking was something that he deeply regretted upon entering however.

As he stared at the stainless statue, the rose petals that floated atop of the tears, and the way in which the tears themselves glittered in the sunlight, he'd been sure that this was beauty and nature at its finest. He was in awe at how clean this place looked, how it almost seemed as though nature itself refused to taint this like it had in the past.

The flowers bloomed, the walls without a speck of dirt, the very liquid, clear as ever. All of which made Steven feel almost like an outsider as he slowly descended the steps and walked near the edge. He sat down and looked intently at the water that wasn't even a few feet from him. In it was his reflection, and even that seemed too perfect to be true.

Steven couldn't help but to feel envy with his mother. It wasn't so much that he wished that he was as powerful as they were, more like he wished that he could've understood how their thoughts concerning nature. Every time that the gems discussed his mother he couldn't help but to question how it was they were able to love so much that nature loved them back.

How they were so different from every other Quartz that they could start a rebellion, heal gems, and survive corruption. A part of him had always just thought that she was special, a special gem who'd never had the chance to shine under the diamonds. Another part of him knew that couldn't have been true however. That part of him was in the forefront of his mind as he stared at the statue in Rose's image.

"You couldn't have been a Quartz because no Quartz could've done what you did... None of them could've." He said softly, his eyes welling up at the fact that he didn't understand. He rarely understood when it came to his mother and it was eating him alive.

Wiping his face, he looked back down at his reflection. He saw beauty in it once more, a type of beauty that he couldn't understand. One that he hadn't ever seen in the mirror. Almost as though the reflection knew what he truly looked like, what he truly was, something that a mere mirror couldn't understand.

That's when he let out a sigh. Afterwards he stood up, looking at his mother's statue one last time, Steven then decided to turn his back and go to the warp pad. As he did so he couldn't help but to think about all the questions he truly wanted to ask, all the thoughts he wished he could say to the gems and not be judged.

He was beginning to want answers and one way or another he was going to find them. Either through the gems, or by discovering it on his own. Stepping onto the warp pad. Steven smiled, as another burst of light filled his vision.

* * *

The next place in which Steven had appeared in was the Gem Battlefield. Upon the sight meeting his gaze, he felt nothing but sheer awe and sorrow. Hundreds ,if not thousands, of broken weapons cemented within the enlarged strawberries which had been scattered across the field. Not to mention the large floating rock formations that somehow defied gravity and still stayed afloat even after all of these millennia.

Steven began walking around. Not truly having any idea of where he'd been walking to. Nor did he truly have an idea of why he'd come there. A part of him said that it was to explore and maybe find out how his mother battled, but he knew that he'd find very little in a place like this.

What was something that stood out to him was the amount of fruit that nearly covered the place. Hundreds, if not thousands, of strawberries, each not even close to being decomposed, scattered across the entirety of these fields.

"Did mom use these?" Steven asked himself, placing a hand onto one of the larger strawberries with a battleaxe buried into it. He couldn't continue that thought however. A group of white butterflies began surrounding him. His eyes widened. He instinctively summoned his shield. Recounting the first time he'd encountered them.

They however, weren't looking for a fight. Instead they merely surrounded him, some even perching on his shoulder and hair. Upon this realization, Steven dispelled his shield and looked around at them.

"Huh, did she use you guys too?" He asked himself. The butterflies remained, still close, and still harmless. A part of him wondered what would happen if he were to place his saliva onto one of the strawberries but he did manage to stop himself.

After all, he didn't want another incident like the watermelon Steven's to occur. Overall this place hadn't provided many answers to who his mother was either, thus they didn't really help him understand himself any better.

"Should I just... Appreciate the world more? Would that make me stronger? Is that what my gem... Is actually meant for?" He asked. It didn't really make any sense to him. Garnet's words echoed through his head once more, yet still their meaning was something he couldn't understand.

He loved the Earth, he wished to protect it with all of his heart, but he didn't know how to make the world love him back. He didn't know how to make it so that he could make another Lion. It was all a mystery, and it felt somewhat like a cruel game because so much of his mother's life was a mystery to him. One that he deeply wanted to solve but couldn't.

He knew how to make watermelon Steven's but he desperately wanted to know what his mother had done to get organics to love them so much. And even then why did they love them so much, what made them so different from all of the other gems. Why could he bring plants to life but the other gems never seemed to have the same ability. It all frustrated him and none of this scenery was helping.

Letting out a sigh he simply plopped onto the ground and stared into the dirt.

"I just wanna know how mom was so perfect. Why can't I be that perfect. The gems loved my mom and sometimes it just feels like I'm a bad replica. Sort of like Lion lickers." He said. The butterflies hadn't responded, and he hadn't expected them to. Instead he rose to his feet.

"This isn't getting me anywhere. Maybe I should just try something else like... Shape-shifting!" He said. Steven then felt a tinge of hope within his heart as he knew exactly where he could go to train for it.

Running back to the warp pad Steven extended his arms, and once more transported to a new location.

* * *

This time he truly did admire the beauty of the place he'd warped to. Surrounding him were beautiful and exotic plants, in front of him worn steps that led to beyond his view, and above them three large mountains. Each extending out from the clouds and dwarfing any other objects with size alone.

It was truly incredible to see each of them, covered to the brim with plant life and ,more likely than not, mountain animals. This had been the original home land of the heaven beetle. The Sky Spire

In his mind this had been the perfect place to test out and improve his shape-shifting abilities. His goal being to get to the top of the third largest mountain. He'd seen it before, it'd been exactly where he'd first seen Opals formation, and where they found the Heaven Beetle's house. The difference now was that he no longer had Pearl and Amethyst, and he knew that there was no way that he was getting to the top of that formation in one day by himself.

Thus Steven decided not to leave this place until he could grow wings and surge to the top without issue. That's when fear shot through him however. He recounted just how badly it'd been the last time he'd tried to shape-shift.

How he nearly became an uncontrollable monster that needed to be stopped by water. He knew exactly how risky this was, how bad it could be. But every step of the way, whenever he tried to learn more about his powers he also had learned not to fear them. To embrace them, and that upon doing so they would be under his control. Not the reverse.

Thus he decided to take a deep breath, he'd start small and then work his way up. Just like the bubble, he would master this skill as well. He opened his hand and looked at it.

"Alright Steven, just think of little cats. Kittens aren't bad, they're adorable. They're... Adorable" He said to himself. Afterwards he decided to focus. He wanted his hand to become a cat paw. Just like how he wanted to be a cat in the past. Unlike the past however, he'd had a much greater understanding of his powers and this time he focused on every part of his hand becoming like that of a cats.

After a few moments of focus his eyes widened. He'd made a white cat finger. His heartbeat hastened in his chest but he reminded himself that this was ok, it was just a cat that happened to be in the shape of his finger. As he looked at it, it stared back at him, meowing in a rather kind manner.

"Ok... Not the best start but maybe I can get you to go away." He said to the finger. Thus he focused once more, trying to get it to disappear. The cat was staying however and instead more began to pop up on his other fingers. Steven let out a quick yell. Stepping backwards, however, being that they were his hand, the cats followed him.

The meowing grew louder. His heartbeat began to race as the memories surged back up again. He then summoned a bubble around his hand, hoping to keep them from spreading any further but he quickly realized that the enclosed space agitated them.

They began hissing and letting out even louder meows. He didn't like it. He really didn't like it. Steven wanted to make them stop but he didn't know how. He tried shushing them but that only made them retaliate even more.

His entire hand then turned into a cat head. This nearly made him trip backwards. He extended his arm as far away from himself as he could. However it wasn't helping, the heads were beginning to pop up in other places. His shoulder, his knees, his other hand. It was just like last time. He then tried running to the warp pad but instead tripped and fell onto his face.

"Oh no!" He cried as he desperately tried getting up, but couldn't seem to control his own body. His bubble was even dispelled and before long he'd been overrun with cat heads, each crying out and meowing.

Steven began crying softly at this. The fact that he'd once more failed and now he'd had no one there who could save him. Nor did he have any water sources to extinguish the heads. He felt like a monster, like a beast and that he was never going to be saved.

He closed his eyes, praying, hoping that someone would get to him eventually. Hoping that he would still one day get to feel the embrace of his family. Hoping that his family would try to find him. It was then that he'd felt something strange. A strange feeling that he had been ignoring this entire time. The cats had begun to purr as they rubbed against each other, and he could feel it. He felt each of their emotions their comfort and desire to just live and love.

Though it was a bit strange, like having new limbs, it was surprisingly comfortable. It almost felt like being surrounded by people. Upon opening his eyes once more Steven saw that his body hadn't moved at all, it'd been staying in place. All the while the cats were rubbing against each other, some even grooming one another with their tongues. Others rubbing against his face.

He giggled as they were rather warm and it kind of tickled, but it felt nice. He lifted his hand and stared at the white cat. It looked at him and smiled.

"Huh... You're not so bad. Are you little guy?" He asked. Among the sea of purrs that were ringing through his ears, this cat simply meowed back at him. And suddenly he understood now.

"You're not evil... Hehe. You're like, limbs with feelings... Limbs with feelings." He said to himself. Now it made sense why he couldn't just shape-shift like the others. Because his body wasn't like the others, he couldn't control the cat-heads because they were alive, just as alive as he was. And he may not have been able to control them but there was something else he could do.

"Hey little guy. I know that it isn't too nice of me to say this but... I really need to get to the top of that mountain over there. Can you please turn back into my regular arm?" He asked. A strange thing, considering he was talking to his very own arm. The cat stared at him for a moment before frowning a bit.

"Pleeeeaaaasseee?" Steven asked, putting on his best cute face. The cat somehow understood. It lost it's frown which was instead replaced by a smile once more. It then nodded adorably.

"Thanks so much!" Steven said, kissing the head of the cat. Afterwards it immediately turned back into his hand, five digits and all. "Woah!" He said excitedly. It all made sense now.

"Hey everyone!" He said, getting the attention of the other cats. "I know that you guys really like being around, and I love you guys too. But can you please turn back into my regular body? I really need to get to the top of that mountain." He said.

The cats began meowing in a rather agitated fashion upon hearing his words. They didn't seem to appreciate the idea of turning back into his regular form.

"Please guys? I understand that you may not want to but I really really need to get up there and I can't do that unless you turn back. I really do care about you, and I'm sorry that in the past I sprayed you with water but please just... Help me." Steven tearfully said. The air went silent and for a moment Steven felt nothing. Afterwards however his body changed and before he knew it, he was lying on the ground with his body back to normal and clothes and backpack ripped.

He excitedly shot up.

"WHOO-WHO!" He yelled as he hugged himself in relief. He stared at his hands, eyes both pouring, as he relished in the fact that he'd actually managed to get his body back without water. It finally worked.

"Y-you guys weren't so bad after all... You just wanted to live. J-just to do cat things." He said to himself. Smiling in relief that he was still himself and not a complete monster. He also smiled because he now knew how he was going to get to the top of that mountain. He wiped off his eyes and stood back up to his feet, eyes fixated on the highest mountaintop.

Steven then outstretched his arms and concentrated on turning them into the wings of a large hawk. Within moments he felt his arms change completely. Shifting into large feathers that were even bigger than his body, from his shoulder also emerged the large head of the bird itself. He giggled upon seeing the animal look around in different directions.

"Hey there!" He said. The hawk look back at him and let out a loud screech, the likes of which rang through Steven's eardrums.

"Ow... I'm excited to see you too. You see the top of that mountain up there?" He asked, directing it's attention towards the third mountaintop. "You think you can help me get up there?" He asked. The hawk didn't hesitate. Within moments, it used Stevens new wings to soar into the air. He began yelling as the bird ascended at ludicrous speeds above the mountain tops, screeching loudly as it did so.

His heart raced and he awed at the beauty of travelling so fast and seeing so much in such a short period of time. They both flew over the mountains in ten minutes before stopping at the top of the third mountain.

That's when they descended onto the pad which had the Heaven Beetles previous mini-house. Steven's heart was still racing, even after they'd landed, he looked around, amazed by the fact that they actually managed to make it, he turned to his hawk friend.

"Thank you so much for getting me up here!" He said. The hawk let another out an ear-piercing screech but Steven could understand that it was it's way of saying 'you're welcome'.

"You uh... You think you could turn to back into my arms now. I'm sorry but I need them." He said nervously. However the hawk somehow wasn't angered by that statement. Instead it closed it's eyes and like the others, reverted back into his previous limbs.

Steven then stared at his hands, stars in his eyes.

"Woah... I can't wait to show the other gems!" He said excitedly.


	5. Chapter 5: Descending Gods

After doing some much needed flight around the sky spire, Steven finally decided to revert back and tell the good news to the rest of the gems. He was sure that they'd be just as, if not more ,excited than he was about the situation and possibly even proud.

When he warped back to the beach-house however, he found a fairly different expression painted on the faces of the gems in front of him. All of whom had been gathered together and were surrounding a tall, box-shaped machine. The likes of which had been making a piercing noise.

The noise had been so deafening that Steven immediately covered his ears upon hearing it.

"What is that?" He shouted. The other gems jumped at his arrival while Peridot quickly ran over to the machine and pressed a button that shut off the unbearable sound.

"That.." They said with dread "-was something very big entering our atmosphere." They finished, turning to meet his equally fearful eyes.

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"I set up this machine so that it emits a sound depending on what enters the atmosphere. I determined the materials that the Home-World bots must be made out of and calibrated it to that. A quiet noise means that maybe a couple of pounds of that material came in. A loud sound on the other hand..." Peridot anxiously turned to their machine which had multiple lights on it. Each of which was glowing red.

"We've got to get to that location immediately!" Garnet said hastily.

"Ok. I can use the machine to track exac-"

"Woah, are you nuts?!" Lapis asked, cutting off Peridot in the process. "The last time we saw those guys they had numbers in the hundreds, maybe even thousands. We don't stand a chance against any of them!" Lapis remarked.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing." Garnet retorted.

"Well we can't just rush into the situation without thinking either!" Lapis countered.

"We can take care of it." Garnet stated.

"Just like how you took care of Quartz?" Lapis questioned.

"Guys stop! Every second that we waste arguing is another second that the Home-World robots could be doing something evil!" Steven shouted. Garnet then turned to Peridot.

"Find out their location, we're going down there immediately." Garnet firmly stated.

"Well _we_ aren't" Lapis said.

"W-well uhh... I'd like to go" Peridot said quietly.

"What? Are you kidding me? You could get shattered out there!" Lapis argued as their eyes widened in disbelief.

"But our friends could get shattered if we don't." Peridot softly replied. The two of them tensely stared at one another after that remark. Eventually Lapis let out a sigh and turned away from Peridots gaze.

"Well.. If she's going then I'll go too." Lapis said.

"Good, Peridot, you know what to do." Garnet said.

"On it." Peridot said. They then rushed over to the machine and analyzed the monitor on it while simultaneously messing with multiple dials. As they did so Garnet began discussing strategies with Bismuth. Amethyst and Pearl also spoke of group attacks and how to use their powers together effectively. This left Steven alone, with Lapis.

He went over to them to see if there was any comfort he could offer.

"I know you're scared. But trust us, we've got this!" Steven said, a confident smile emerging from his lips. Lapis reciprocated with a small smile of their own, but it didn't last.

"Steven... This is dangerous. Way more dangerous then you think. Those robots that we saw, they were way worse than regular Home-World gems. Most Home-World soldiers can't even fly without shape-shifting. Most also aren't nearly as uniform. You guys are rushing into this. And if we're not careful. We're all going to be dust by sundown." Lapis said grimly.

Their words shook him. They reached a place in him that he always tried to suppress but knew that he couldn't get rid of. Fear. An emotion that'd been kept in this repressed part of him that now was coming to the forefront. Just as he was about to respond to their words however, he heard Peridot.

"Alright! I've found them, there's a lot nestled up in the Prime Kindergarten!" Peridot shouted.

"Great! They shouldn't know that we're coming. Remember gems, this is a larger threat than any of us can imagine. They're products of Home-World. Be cautious and stick together and above all else cooperate and act as one." Garnet said. They then stepped onto the warp-pad and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

After everyone was on, they all readied their weapons.

"Everyone ready?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah!" All but Lapis shouted.

"Then let's do this!" Garnet shouted back. A beam of light then flooded over them all.

* * *

 **Prime Kindergarten**

The first thing that struck all of the gems wasn't one of the dozens of boulders that'd been falling from the sky above them. It wasn't one of the blades of which their were hundreds surrounding them. It wasn't even one of the thousands of beams of light that'd been fired directly at them.

The first thing that struck the minds of every Crystal Gem, save for Steven, had been fear. Fear as they now knew exactly how much of a mistake it was to come here in a rush.

The one who felt it most was Garnet. They all didn't have time to react to that feeling however, for they had a bigger issue to deal with. All of the gems dodged the attacks that'd been aimed at them. Garnet even grabbed Steven before leaping into the skies towards a crowd of Home-World robots.

Using their gauntlet, they punched through a large bulk of them, flying through the hole and crashing onto the ground. The other gems followed suite, surrounding Garnet as they released Steven and rose to their feet.

In front of them had now been their worse nightmare. A large swarm and what must've been thousands of Home-World bots, and a warp-pad, their only means of escape, crushed under the weight of dozens of boulders that'd been intended for them.

The gems also now had a better view of what they looked like. Each Home-World bot looked similar to one another. They had a shape that resembled that of a wasp with multiple gaps on the back of their metallic skin, like to that of a samurai. Each also had multiple limbs protruding from their center. Their differences lied in the fact that each one had a different weapon attached to it's body. Some had substantial, advanced guns mounted on their shoulders. While others had some of their many limbs replaced with weapons that resembled chainsaws and even swords. Their greatest similarity was that they all had a white light pouring from their gaps, weapons, and eyes.

"We predicted your arrival." Thousands of monotone voices, all coming from each individual Home-World robot, spoke in unison with one another. "We also predicted when you'd arrive, and how." They collectively added.

"You are the Crystal gems. And you" A Home-World bot shined a spotlight onto Steven. It was blindingly bright and he grunted in discomfort as he tried to shield his eyes.

"-are Pink Diamond!" They finished. "You are all insects of a past era. Mere rocks to what is now a planet and we welcome you back to where you belong. Home-World is no longer a society ruled by gems, but instead a society ruled by technology. It's citizens are all connected, and it is our wills that shape not just the planets, but soon multiple galaxies and all the stars within them. Pink. Come back to us. Merge yourself with our technology and you shall share your power with us once again." The bots said.

"Pink.. Diamond?" Steven questioned. Pearl could feel tears welling up in their eyes.

"Where are you getting this power from!? Home-World didn't have nearly enough power to create beings like you. Much less send this many to another planet!" Peridot yelled.

"That was true in the past. But the leaders, Blue and Yellow Diamond, managed to create a technological force powered by only the best power source that gem-kind had to offer. Now, give yourselves up to the collective. Whether by choice or by force, you will join the rest of your kind, and all gems will have finally evolved.

"Evolved?" Peridot asked.

"Enough!" Garnet shouted. "You are not welcome here and you will leave this planet be! We will not allow for you to harm it!" Garnet finished. The Home-World bots finally shut off the spotlight, allowing Steven to regain his vision.

"Pink... Will we also require that you be brought in with force as well?" The Home-World bots questioned one final time. Steven looked at them in confusion once more. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, or that they'd been referring to him.

"I... I'm not Pink Diamond! I'm the son of Rose Quartz!" Steven shouted as he lifted his shirt to reveal his gemstone.

"No, you are not." The Home-World bots said. A concentrated white energy blast then emerged from the mass and struck Steven's gemstone which knocked him off of his feet and onto the ground.

"Steven!" The gems cried out. However just as they prepared to attack they noticed something strange. Steven's gemstone had shifted somehow and it's true form had been revealed. It'd been an upside down diamond. As Steven sat up, groaning in recovery they also noticed something about his eyes. They'd also been changed. His iris now Pink, and his pupil in the shape of a small black diamond.

"You, are a diamond." The Home-World robots said in their same monotone voice.

The air went silent as everyone realized exactly what that meant. Before they could even finish processing however Bismuth screamed in fury before charging the Home-World bots. Before Bismuth could be struck by a beam of white light, Garnet shoved them out of the way, saving their life. As the two regained their footing, the Home-World bots remained in place.

"Pink. We await your answer." They stated.

"You won't get one!" Pearl shouted back.

"So be it." The Home-World bots said. They then spread out and prepared to attack

Lapis and Peridot took action immediately. Peridot pulled out a large spherical device which they threw into the crowd of robots. It exploded and managed to paralyze multiple enemies. The one's that managed to dodge the attack were immediately slapped down by a massive hand of water.

Pearl also managed to make a Holo-Pearl and began blasting energy attacks at the robots. The robots countered by absorbing Pearl's energy attacks, reciprocating with their own.

Amethyst shape-shifted into a fire-breathing king cobra. As they spat fire at the bots however, the bots resisted the effects of the flames and also fired intense beams at Amethyst.

Steven meanwhile was having his reality shattered as he continued to stare at his gem. Tears were continuously flowing down his face as he tried to wrap his mind around being the son, nay, _the_ genocidal being that kicked off the great gem war. All the while he ignored the pink glow emanated from his gem and the changes that his body was undergoing.

Garnet and Bismuth both fought valiantly against multitudes Home-World robots. They were both constantly in motion. Dodging, attacking, and guarding one another from damage. At one point Bismuth even grabbed Garnet and threw them into a mass of robots, to which Garnet used their gauntlets to completely demolished a section of them.

"It's not working!" Garnet yelled as they landed. They weren't wrong. Each Home-World bot that was destroyed, broke down and within seconds rebuilt itself anew. However each time that these robots were rebuilt they were gaining new weaponry and it was showing as the battle progressed.

Whereas in the beginning huge swaths of these robots were being destroyed, Lapis and Peridot both collectively managing to take out hundreds with their powers alone, now the battle was becoming a challenge.

Garnet took note of how increasingly difficult it was becoming to dodge the attacks of these inanimate beings. Each of which were beginning to sport more intense weaponry suited for their opponents.

In the midst of nearly getting impaled by a spear, Garnet was saved by Pearl who sliced the bot in half. They then turned and blocked over a dozen different beams of energy.

"What should we do?!" Pearl shouted as they then dodged another attack. They were all being overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that they couldn't even fuse. Lapis even resorted to making a large bubble of water. Trapping thousands of the robots inside of it as they did so.

They then crushed them under the weight of the water, shrinking the bubble until it was only the size of a mere basketball. Afterwards the let out shallow breaths, releasing the water and the metallic parts inside.

"I think... That did something." Lapis said in exhaustion.

"We have to get out of here before they reform." Garnet stated. "Amethyst turn into a helicopter and Lapis use your water as a shield." They commanded.

Even though Lapis had been more than furious with Garnet, they still follow their commands. Amethyst turned into a helicopter faster than they'd turned into anything in their life. Pearl quickly grabbed Steven who'd still been paralyzed at his horrific revelation.

All of the gems boarded Amethyst, meanwhile the ball of metals began to move and shake violently. As Amethyst ascended into the air, Lapis outstretched their arms and formed a bubble of water to shield all of them.

"Go to the ocean or anywhere near water! They won't be able to match me under there." Lapis stated. The gems however were staring in horror at the large structure in front of them. It'd been a tower, the likes of which had been as large as a mountain. It stood erect from what must've been the center of the Prime-Kindergarten.

The structure was one that rotated slowly and continuously, with pointed tips near the top which intense light shined from. This wasn't the Home-World bots first time arriving here.

The accompanying shaking and violent roaring did nothing to calm the nerves of the group.

"What is that?" Amethyst asked. They were soon answered by another ear-splitting screech. Out from the mist and large columns of the Prime Kindergarten, came one colossal Home-World robot.

It had a wasp-like shape just like the others. In fact it resembled all of their shapes and even had a white glow to it. The differences ,however, was that it'd been around four times the size of Amethyst and flew just as fast.

From the gaps and even mouth of this behemoth spewed forth thousands of Home-World robots. Within moments, a barrage of laser beams flew their way. Lapis luckily used the shield to absorb much of the damage. The beams however eventually evaporated the water.

Pearl then had a quick idea. They sliced the air, allowing for their white energy to flow through the slash. As soon as their white energy collided with that of the robots energy, they canceled out. Upon seeing this Pearl laughed as they then began slashing as rapidly with two swords.

They blocked a multitude of different shots from multiple angles however the true difficulties would come from the Home-World bots which were now closing in on the helicopter.

Lapis took the remaining moisture out of the air, hardening it before flinging it at the bots. Garnet also used their gauntlets, firing them off like rockets in multiple directions, striking groups of robots as they did so. Peridot continued throwing explosives in the direction of the robots as well, hoping to slow them as much as possible.

Instead of reforming like before however, each Home-World bot that was destroyed instead had their parts fly over to the massive Home-World robot. It continuously spat out Home-World bots faster than the gems could destroy them.

The gems were tiring once more and Pearl was getting worse at reacting to the blast of the bots. If this continued for much longer they were going to be blasted out of the sky.

"Amethyst, how close are we to water?" Garnet asked.

"Not too much farther now! I think I see a huge amount of it!" Amethyst shouted back.

"Hold them off for just a little longer gems!" Garnet shouted. Thus everyone followed their orders. Everyone fired projectiles at the large swarms, save for Pearl who was defending the helicopter.

Any bots that came even close to the ship were immediately attacked by Bismuth. Who'd turn their arm into a large battleaxe and stretch it to hit the Home-World bots.

In spite of such however the largest Home-World bot was now closing in. As it did so everyone was treated to an even closer view of it's face. It's eyes were like that of a fly's, thousands of eyes bunched into two. It also had mandibles that were attached to a human-like mouth. From that mouth, flowed a new grey fog.

The attacks of all of the gems were doing very little against this beast which seemed as though it was preparing for something big. Though they couldn't see much of its body, they could see how the light radiating from it was becoming more and more bright.

Amethyst how close are we?!" Garnet shouted.

"Almost there!" Amethyst replied. In spite of their words Garnet saw how the Home-World bot was seemingly near full charge, thus they made the only decision they could think of.

"Fly downwards now!" Garnet shouted. Amethyst didn't hesitate, they dive bombed towards what they saw. Everyone hung on for dear life, nearly falling out of the helicopter as a result of not being prepared.

The Home-World bot simply re-calibrated it's aim and within moments they heard a deafening sound cut through the air. It'd been far louder than anything the gems had heard before.

Amethyst just barely avoided being hit by the massive beam but the resulting explosion from it hitting the ground was more than enough to knock everyone out of the helicopter and fling them miles away.

Each of them landing in a different part in what'd been their saving grace. The ocean.


	6. Chapter 6: The Will Of Lapis

The moment that they hit the water, their eyes jolted open. Lapis had entered their domain once more and here they were truly unrivaled. For what'd been surrounding them had been the sea in all of its beauty.

They couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief that they'd landed here instead of some place like a mountain or desert. Though the sea did house many of their worst memories, it also was the place where they felt the most secure. The control that it offered to them was incredibly valuable and they rarely gave that up.

Within moments of realizing that they were in the sea, Lapis also realized that none of the other gems were in sight. Thus they began quickly looking around. Darting their eyes in multiple directions. After still not being able to spot them, Lapis decided to start searching.

They moved through the water at rapid speeds, using multiple currents to aid in their travels. It didn't take long for them to run into Bismuth. They were merely sinking, knocked unconscious by the blast. Lapis debated saving them and as they did so Peridot and Steven came to mind. With hesitance, they decided concede to allowing them to live. They placed Bismuth in a small bubble of air.

Afterwards they began searching for the others, still dragging Bismuth along. Eventually managing to come across Peridot and Pearl. They gave them the same treatment. After them was Garnet, whom Lapis had saved a select few choice words for. Amethyst was also nearby.

The only one that'd been missing was Steven. As soon as Lapis realized this their heart began to race. Steven wasn't a full-on gem. His human half still played a big role and there's a chance that he could've been ripped apart in the blast. Lapis searched tirelessly for him, pushing the currents to their upmost potential. They breathed another, greater, sigh of relief upon seeing him. Most of his clothing had been blown off with his pants barely hanging on.

His skin, however, was fine. This was more than strange to Lapis. Though they were worried about the possibilities of his frail human body being placed in an explosion like that, it hadn't seemed as though the explosion had effected him at all. In all actuality, he appeared better to them then he'd ever been before.

They didn't take the time to examine him too in depth. Instead immediately placing him in a bubble of air as they knew that he needed it far more than any of the other gems.

After having collected the gems Lapis descended to a nearby sea bed. They then combined all of the bubbles of air and expanded them into an area comparable to that of a large cave.

The gems collectively collapsed onto the moist sand, shaking off bits of water and groaning at many of the scraps and burns on their forms. Lapis hadn't taken the time to notice. Steven was all that was on their mind and he hadn't even woken up yet. Though they did notice that his gem was glowing.

"Lapis." They heard. Turning to the direction of the sound, they then found that it'd been Garnet who'd called them. "Thank you." They finished.

Lapis' brow furrowed but they let it rest for now. Steven was priority. Pearl immediately ran over to him.

"Steven! Are you ok?! What's going on?!" They shouted, shaking his unconscious body and checking for scars. The rest of the gems followed suit, even Lapis ran in to get a closer look.

"Woah. Why's his gem glowing like that?" Amethyst questioned.

"Wait back away, let me see!" Peridot said, being far too short to actually look above the rest of the gems surrounding them. The gems did as they said and allowed Peridot to get a better gaze at the issue.

"Oh my.." Peridot said in awe as they touched his skin.

"What's wrong with him?" Pearl asked. Peridot took a moment to consider the situation before they answered. They lifted his arm, felt his chest, and even opened his eyes.

"This is... Fascinating." Peridot said.

"Peridot! Please tell us!" Pearl practically begged.

"Nothing is wrong with him! If anything the only thing that is concerning is the fact that his gem is effectively working on overdrive right now!" Peridot stated.

"W-what..." Pearl said, confusion carved into their face in a similar fashion to the rest of the gems.

"Our gems don't usually glow this bright unless they're being put to some serious work. Like when they have to bring out our weapons or, if they have to change our forms, or even when projections are made. The brighter they glow, the more energy they're outputting. Judging by the fact that his gem has been glowing this bright in spite of him being unconscious means that it's probably doing something big to his body... I just don't know what." Peridot said.

The gems were relieved to know that he was fine, but that's also when they remembered a horrific detail. The pink diamond that had been buried in his stomach.

"I still can't believe that he's a Diamond. If that's true then does that mean that Rose was..." Bismuth couldn't even finish that sentence.

"No! There has to be another explanation for why he's part Diamond! Rose wouldn't have.. Lied like that." Those words themselves were lies and Garnet knew it. Their fist balled upon recognizing just how many times Rose kept secrets from them, from all of the Crystal Gems.

"No! It's not like that! Rose wa-" Pearl's hands instantly clasped their mouth, they tried to pry them away but were futile in doing so.

"Pearl!? What's wrong?" Garnet asked.

"She knows something." Bismuth speculated. "After all she was with Rose from the very beginning. You knew that she was a Diamond!" Bismuth shouted.

Pearl continued to try and pry their hands from their mouth, crying as they struggled. Garnet held them in support.

"That's enough Bismuth." Garnet warned.

"Yeah! Quit picking on her! Just because she was with Rose doesn't mean that she knew about what she was!" Amethyst yelled.

"This doesn't concern you short stuff! You weren't there. You have no idea what Rose was like! The only people who do are me, Garnet, and Pearl and I have a feeling that one of us knew exactly what Rose was!" Bismuth said, their fury building with every word.

"Bismuth, I said that's enough. Now is not the time to being turning on each other like this!" Garnet shouted back, still attempting to comfort Pearl. Who'd all but given up on the situation.

"Oh I wouldn't say that" Lapis said. The gems then darted their attention over to them.

"You almost got all of us disintegrated back there! You could've destroyed all of us and for what!? Because we couldn't 'sit back and do nothing?'" Lapis asked.

"Lapis, I didn't know tha-"

"Didn't know what?!" Lapis interrupted. "That the robots would've seen us coming a mile away? That they'd be better and stronger than us? That they'd have more numbers?! I told you all of this and you still didn't believe me!" Lapis shouted. Garnet stared at them for a moment. It went silent as they listened to and understood their words. Garnet then looked down.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly and I wasn't utilizing my future vision to it's fullest. Next time I'll listen, I promise. Not just to you but to anyone who has these concerns." Garnet said. Their words failed to appease Lapis' anger however and they shook their head in contention.

"No. That's not going to work this time. With you gems it's always about next time. 'I'm sorry for releasing that gem but don't worry next time it'll be fine.' 'I'm sorry for upsetting Home-World again but next time we'll see them coming!' 'I'm sorry for putting you in a mirror! But don't worry next time we won't ever do something that bad again!' That's not going to work this time! You Crystal Gems are fighting for a doomed planet! Look around! We're in the ocean, hiding from a force that is superior to all of us and yet you still think that we have a chance in defending this planet like this! Not this time. I'm not going to sit idly by and let you gems order me around with no actual regard for my well-being!" Lapis shouted.

"Lapis.. Please calm down, there's no need to-"

"Enough!" Lapis interrupted once more. "Peridot and I have been working on a city named Oceanos! With it we're going to plunge this planet into the ocean and use its resources to finally, once and for all, destroy Home-World and the gems so that they'll finally stop taking over and destroying lives!" Lapis shouted.

"Woah, Lapis." Peridot said in concern. "I thought you sai-"

"I know what I said! But this is it's new purpose. If you don't like that, you're welcome to stay with these disgusting beings!" Lapis shouted. Peridot looked at their friends and even took a step forwards. After looking back at Lapis ,however, they looked down and silently remained at their side.

"Steven is the only thing that's good about the Crystal Gems. The rest of it is founded off of lies and hurting other gems. Judging by the fact that you're own leader kept secrets from you; I can't imagine them being any better. When Steven wakes up tell him that he's welcome in Oceanos. To the rest of you though: STAY OUT!" Lapis shouted.

They then grabbed Peridot and leapt out of the bubble. Upon their exit, water instantly poured inside.

Thus Garnet grabbed Steven before they were all submerged underwater. Garnet then rushed to the surface with the rest of the gems as quickly as possible. They held Steven up upon hitting the surface. Hoping that he'd begin breathing immediately. To their relief, he did.

The rest of the gems popped up beside them and looked around. They'd been in the dark of night, the moon being the only source of light that they had to guide them.

"Alright, I'll turn into a bird and hopefully we'll be able to find our way home on my back." Garnet said. The rest of the gems nodded at their plan. Garnet then handed Steven over to Pearl before jumping into the air and shifting into a bird large enough to support all of them. The gems then hopped on their back and Garnet began to sore through the air.

The ride had been anything but pleasant. It'd been silent and there was nothing but the moon and the clouds to keep the gems comfort. They all couldn't help but to wonder what'd just happened. They wondered about who Rose was, they wondered just how much danger the Earth was in, and lastly they wondered what was going on with Steven.

He still remained unconscious and seemingly lifeless and they couldn't help but to worry about the state that he'd been in. Garnet flew for hours on end. They searched for multiple land masses, the dark of the night only making it more difficult to do so.

Not to mention that the Kindergarten was incredibly far from Beach-City and without a warp-pad to go back-and-forth between the two ,travel, even in the skies, would take a very long time.

Eventually they spotted land and with time they spotted the beach that their house had been built on. Upon landing on the beach and eventually going inside, the gems took a moment to truly comprehend all that'd happened.

There was silence upon them entering the house, Pearl put Steven in his bed while Bismuth simply stared Garnet down. Garnet had even removed their shades to get a better look at the anger in their partners eyes.

"What are we gonna do Garnet?" Bismuth asked.

"We're going to fight." Garnet replied calmly.

"Fight who? Home-World? Or Lapis?" Bismuth asked.

"Both." Garnet replied.

"And for what?" Bismuth asked.

"To protect the Earth." Garnet replied.

"To protect the Earth!? Garnet are you insane?! We're talking about a near three-way war and newsflash: We have the weakest side in it!" Bismuth shouted.

"We have to protect the Earth. It's what we fought for. It's what Rose..." Garnet couldn't even finish that thought upon saying their name.

"Oh yeah. Rose. Who could forget about them and their legacy of lies? They fed them to all of us and look at what they've led to. Most of her army is either corrupted or littered across the Earth's floor and you wanna fight for this rock?!" Bismuth asked.

"The life on this planet doesn't deserve to be destroyed like the life on other planets has been!' Garnet argued.

"You know what, I agree. Gems taking over other planets sucks. But guess what? We can't do anything about it! There's only a few of us left, meanwhile Home-World has thousands, maybe even millions of robots, each stronger than probably all of us put together! We'll be shattered, no probably just vaporized going against them. Not to mention that Lapis and Peridot are also going to be involved in this and Lapis can probably stop all of us in our tracks because of this planet's ocean!" Bismuth shouted.

"What would you rather we do?! Sit back? Watch as the world that we fought for thousands of years ago crumbles under the weight of the worst war imaginable again?!" Garnet asked.

"No! I say we don't sit back and get the heck out of here and don't look back!" Bismuth shouted.

"That's the cowards way out." Garnet said with contempt.

"And what you're talking about is a suicide mission. Which one sounds like more of a garbage plan to you?" Bismuth asked.

"We can get creative! We can fight! We can use everything at our disposal and find a way to push back! We always do!" Garnet said.

"No. We always _did_. Back when we had Rose, when we had an army, when we had leaders, we could push back. But right now, when we're about to be involved in one of the worst wars that this planet has every seen. There's no pushing back, every leaders knows the rule: live to fight another day. What you're suggesting is suicide and if you don't come up with a plan right now then I say you do what I'm about to do. Get out of here and free yourself of this terrible planet." Bismuth said.

Garnet stared at them. Taking a deep breath in frustration. Bismuth was right to an extent in their mind. They had no way to fight back, no plan, no soldiers, nothing. But Garnet knew that they simply needed more time, more time to plan, more time to understand the situation with even better depth. They needed to fight for this planet. Thus they had a suggestion.

"Fine. But we put it to a vote, we're a group after all. We need to stay together. What do you say?" Garnet asked. Bismuth looked at them with reluctance for only a moment.

"Alright. Fine, majority rules." Bismuth said. They both then turned to Amethyst and Pearl, who up to this point had been watching as the two went back and forth. Now they were tasked in finding out who they should follow.

"Raise your hand if you believe that we should leave this planet." Bismuth said. They then raised their hand. Reluctantly, Amethyst followed suit. No one said anything about this however. They respected the opinions of one another and acknowledged them as well.

"Alright then. Raise your hand if you believe that we should stay and fight for this planet." Garnet said. Bismuth and Amethyst then put their hands down but Garnet and Pearl raised theirs into the sky.

The group had now reached an impasse.

"Now what?" Bismuth questioned.

"We stay and fight." Garnet said.

"You can't do that! This is a tie, a 2 on 2!" Bismuth pointed out. Garnet however pointed in the direction of Steven's bed and the gems collectively turned to see him. He'd still been lying on his bed, however his arm had been raised in Garnets favor.

"Steven!" The other gems said, rushing over to him to make sure that he was ok. He chuckled as he sat up.

"Guys, don't worry, I feel fine." He said.

"Were you listening the entire time?" Bismuth asked, he shook his head.

"I only heard the part when Garnet asked us to raise our hands if we want to stay and fight." He said.

"Steven... You understand that that's insane right? There's no way we can beat our opponents." Bismuth said hopelessly.

"Guys." Steven said as he then hopped off of his bed onto the floor. His skin began to glow and pieces of it also broke off of him. In spite of such it didn't seem to do any harm to him ,however, the large pieces that broke off molded into the shapes of spheres.

Within moments so many spheres had broken off that they surrounded him. He then outstretched his hands and the spheres began colliding with one another other. As they did so they became even larger and began molding into new forms. The forms took the shapes of animals who's skin eventually changed color and even grew fur.

It only took a few minutes but after that Steven had been surrounded by five different creatures. A bunny, a bird, a snake, a hawk, and a wolf. The gems all stared, awestruck at his new abilities. He simply smiled, his diamond eyes shining at the overwhelming joy that he felt.

"I think that we have more than enough of a fighting chance!" He said with genuine hope.


	7. Chapter 7: The beginning of the Omega

**Ancient Sky arena**

Steven's speed was incredible. His strength was seemingly limitless and his reflexes were nearly perfect. Bismuth relentless threw blows at him. Their fury of attacks never ceasing but also never progressing, Steven was capable of dodging nearly everything that they dished out.

Bismuth swung their hammer-fist downwards, Steven dodged to the left and then struck back. It'd been the first attack that he'd done the entire battle, but it'd been enough to showcase his power. Bismuth flew backwards the moment that they were struck, being repelled from the point of impact right into the stands of the crowd where the other gems had been sitting.

"Woah! When did Steven get so strong?" Amethyst asked, staring at Bismuth who'd been recovering from the blow.

"It must be his gem. He's gaining strength as the battle goes on." Garnet assessed.

Bismuth then lunged at Steven from the stands. Their arms held above their head as they prepared to swing downwards on him once more. Rather than dodging, Steven simply stood in place and casually lifted both his arms.

The moment Bismuth struck he grabbed both of their arms and stopped the attack in it's place. Bismuth stared at him with wide eyes as they shook, struggling to move their arms at all. Steven effortlessly held them in place, a simple smile rested on his face as he did so.

When Steven let go, Bismuth took a couple of steps backwards. They then tripped on their own footing and fell onto the ground.

"What... Happened to you?" Bismuth asked in shock, staring into his diamond shaped pupils.

"I don't know. But for some reason I feel really... Good I guess." Was all Steven could muster. All the while he looked at his now empowered hands. The rest of the gems rushed down from the stands, seeing that the fight was clearly at its end.

"That was nuts Steven! How do you feel?" Amethyst asked.

"I've never been better." Steven said, chuckling with glee.

"Are you sure Steven? This is... New. And if you're bothered at all-"

"No, I'm telling you Pearl, I feel great right now!" Steven interrupted. The air went silent with discomfort. Steven however had been unaffected, going back to staring at his own hands and body, enthusiastic about his new metamorphosis.

"Well Bismuth. What do you think?" Garnet asked. Bismuth remained on the ground, their eyes still wide as the tried to comprehend the sight before them. It'd been a diamond in the flesh and so many questions were flooding through their mind all at once. Garnets question did snap them out of it however.

"Oh. I-I.. uh. Think we might have a shot at this now." They said.

"Good. Then we need to hurry. Everyone back to the temple!" Garnet stated. The rest of the gems then followed them away from the ruins.

* * *

 **The Living room**

"Alright what's the plan?" Bismuth asked, still visibly shaken.

"It seems as though the large pillar like structure in the Prime Kindergarten is being used as some sort of power source. If we can find a way to disable them perhaps we can shut of the majority of Home-World bots, or maybe shut off their production." Garnet stated.

"How would we do that?" Bismuth asked.

"We could utilize Steven's plant powers to make a distraction. Maybe try and sneak into the pillar to shut it down from within." Garnet states.

"That's not a bad idea. But there's one problem. We don't exactly have a lot of numbers on us and even if we do get into those towers, I'm betting that there's going to be loads of Home-World bots just crawling around the place. We're not exactly fit for that. How about instead we go after Lapis and Peridot? They might have something that can help with this, plus taking them down means one less force to fight." Bismuth recommended.

"I was thinking of that as a possibility. But we currently have no ways of tracking them, and unfortunately they could be anywhere within the ocean. It'd take far too long to actually find them through normal methods of surveillance." Garnet said.

"Well what if Pearl and I could cook up some sort of tracking device? That could work out." Bismuth asked.

"It'd be useful but unfortunately I have feeling that Peridot already has built numerous counter measures in one way or another." Garnet said.

"Well it still can't hurt to try. After all if we don't..."

As Garnet and Bismuth continued having their conversation Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl were listening intently. Or at the very least they were supposed to be. Steven had slowly began drowning them out. His attention being drawn to one of the windows which led to the sea. The site had been noticeably different. He couldn't tell if it'd been his heightened senses or perhaps a tampering within the ocean itself, but the water seemed to almost glow in the sunlight. It'd been colored a rich light blue and seemed almost as though it was expanding.

Steven then realized what that meant, he looked more intensely at the ocean and saw as it began to extend pass where it would normally halt. The water began to slowly rise as it did so. Steven's eyes widened as the water extended to the temple.

"Guys! You might wanna see this!" Steven alarmingly said.

"What is it Steven!?" Garnet panicked, that's when they were met with the sight. The ocean had now swallowed the majority of the beach and it was only rising from there. Steven immediately snatched a remote and ran over to his TV before quickly cutting it on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have alarming reports of the ice and snow within the arctic beginning to melt at astonishing rates." The news anchor stated in alarm. The gems stared in trepidation as whole glaciers shifted into water in the blink of an eye.

"Gems we need to move!" Garnet shouted. The rest of the gems collectively jumped as they heard them, they then turned to the window and saw a wave that looked to be the size of a skyscraper in height, and was even larger than the temple in width. It looked to be approaching them at a rapid pace.

They each sprinted outside.

"Amethyst!" Garnet yelled.

"On it!" Amethyst replied as they then turned into a helicopter. The gems then darted inside of them as they began to fly upwards. As they did so the wave was getting closer by the second and they just barely managed to escape the colossal disaster.

Amethyst then turned around, allowing the gems to watch as the wave swallowed the entirety of the temple along with an immense portion of beach city.

"NO!" Steven cried out as he watched the water flood through the homes and stores that he'd grown so fond of. That wasn't the end of it however. The sky quickly began to darken as thunderous roars also erupted from the clouds which expanded to block out all light from the sun.

Cumulonimbus clouds conquered the skies and the gems could do nothing but stare at them as they roared with thunder and brought down lightning. The wind and rain soon came after. Both of which were far more robust than in previous storms.

"Woah, woah!" Amethyst said as the winds began blowing them off course.

They began spinning around in circles and just as they were about to descend downwards, Steven threw up a bubble large enough to encase all of them.

"Whew! Thanks for the save!" Amethyst said.

"No problem!" Steven said with a confident smile. They then stabilized in the air.

"What's going on!?" Bismuth shouted over the roaring winds and thunder.

"Look!" Garnet shouted, pointing towards a direction of interest. Miles away, in the distant seas, multiple whirling columns of water connected to the sky. Each of these columns had also been glowing a bright blue hue. They appeared to be where the storm had originated from.

"What do you say!? You think we can take em!?" Bismuth shouted.

"I don't think we have a choice!" Garnet shouted back. "Amethyst! Take us there!" Garnet ordered.

"On it!" Amethyst replied. They then began to fly over towards the site of disaster. That's when another disaster appeared. A deafening mechanical groaning, the likes of which had been Herculean enough to overshadow even the ear piercing thunder produced by the clouds, swooped through the area.

"What was-" Garnet had then been interrupted by a tremendous object hurling from the sky. The moment it crashed onto the ground it sent shock waves through the earth and caused the already ruined beach city to become a wasteland of collapsed buildings.

The gems collectively gasped at the size of this object, it resembled the pillar from the kindergarten though it was only half of it's size, however the gems were able to discern it's features as a result of their proximity to it.

It'd been a dark purple object made out of eight sections, seven of which began rotating above the eighth stationary one that'd been rooted on the ground. As the seven other sections rotated they extended outwards from the center, revealing a large glowing vertical object to be in it's place. A large beam then shot from the top of this object into the sky and the gems watched as hundreds of Home-World bots erupted from it.

A noisy buzzing accompanied their arrival. They began to spread outwards and began to spread destruction as they lowered into the cities, blasting away at the buildings.

"Amethyst! Take us inside of the temple!" Garnet said, noticing that the Home-World bots were beginning to pick up on their presence. Amethyst wasted no time, hurrying to the temple which had been mostly destroyed save for the magical door at the end of the decimated living room. Amethyst quickly shifted back and the gems sprinted towards the door.

Home-World bots fired lasers at them, Stevens bubble managed to reflect all of them but it put noticeable strain on him. He grunted in pain, thus leading to Garnet carrying him to lighten his burden. Once they approached the door Pearl utilized their gem the door opened to the ruins.

The gems then ran through, narrowly managing to avoid laser blast as Stevens bubble dissipated. Once they were inside, the door slammed shut behind them.

* * *

 **Ancient sky arena**

Once the gems had finally entered the ruins and made sure that they were safe, they all collectively took a breather. Garnet put Steven down as they sat in the stands.

The ruins had noticeably changed. The sun still beamed down upon them, but the clouds had all turned into a darkened, stormy color and had grown noticeably in size.

"This... This must be Lapis." Garnet said.

"No doubt about it." Bismuth agreed as they then rose to their feet.

"Did you see that out there? It's only been a few hours and already everything is starting up!" Bismuth stated

"I know. Just give me some time, I'm sure I can think of a plan." Garnet said.

"No, Garnet I'm serious. This may be the time to pack our bags and call it a day. No telling how dangerous this is going to get." Bismuth said

The two began to argue and as they did Steven stood up and began walking towards the arena. Amethyst was the only one in the group who noticed this. Steven sat down in the arena and they approached him before sitting beside him.

"So... What do you think?" Amethyst asked.

"About what?" Steven asked.

"I dunno... About all of... This I guess?" Amethyst asked. "Are you ok?" They continued in worry.

"Actually" Steven said, noticeably shaking. "I don't... Really feel as bad about all of this as I think I should. Is that bad?" He asked, turning to face her. His eyes had fear in them and hearing his words sent unnerving thoughts through Amethyst head. They still responded with comfort however.

"No! Of course not.. I mean, I barely know how to feel about it all either. I just can't believe that well, all of this is happening." Amethyst said. Staring into the clouds which still violently coursed with lightning.

"Yeah. Heh, it's funny. I never thought that I'd ever have to be involved in a war." Steven said somberly.

"Well... I guess we don't always get to pick our battles." Amethyst said. "Don't worry though, we'll get through this. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah... I'm sure of it too." Steven said. The two of them then sat in silence for a moment. The clouds, for as startling as the were below, were far more passive from where they were sitting. Lightning and thunder did course through them but due to how elevated the sky arena was, the clouds seemed were like stationary pieces of cotton candy as opposed to the bringers of the most disastrous storm that beach city has ever seen.

So much so that the sounds that they produced actually brought more comfort rather than fear.

Meanwhile Garnet and Bismuth continued to argue about whether or not they should leave or stay and fight.

"Bismuth what happened to your stubbornness? What happened to your willingness to stay and protect no matter the cost?!" Garnet shouted.

"That all went away when I saw my friends shards scattered across the battlefield!" Bismuth shouted back.

"Do you hear that?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, they're pretty loud aren't they?" Amethyst asked.

"No not that." Steven said. His heart began to race as he rose to his feet. "Somethings coming!" He said in alarm.

"What do you mean?!" Amethyst asked, doing the same.

"Guys!" Steven shouted. However he couldn't be heard over the roaring thunder of the clouds. He turned to then see that which he feared emerging from them. He also began taking steps backwards as he saw the metallic humanoid step onto the arena he'd been standing on.

The enemies had originated from Home-World, of that there was no doubt, nothing else had even come close to matching Home-World in technological prowess so it must've come from there. However their appearance had been different from the robots that the gems had encountered up until that point.

As opposed to being a shiny metallic silver and in the shape of a wasp. These robots looked more advanced. There were five of them. The one in the center was unquestionably the leader. It had been in the shape of a gargantuan humanoid that towered over even Bismuth. It's body had white armor plating which appeared to be protecting the numerous wires which connected multiple parts of it's being together. It's arms appeared to be made up of two astonishing cannon-like weapons and it's head had only a single red glowing orb that resembled an eye implanted into it.

Two robots floated beside the leaders head, they'd both been in the shape of cubes and had been the size of the leaders dome. Two robots were also at the feet of the leader. They had been in the shapes of spheres and seemed to have a top half which they could extend from the summit of their bodies. Their top half's also seemed to be accompanied with a head that had a singular orb as well as two rapid fire weapons that looked like miniature versions of the leaders canons.

"We are here for Pink Diamond. Surrender them and you will be granted freedom." The Home-World bots all spoke in unison. Steven's eyes widened, he stepped back even more in a panic.

"He's not going anywhere!" He heard Bismuth scream before he then saw them descend from the air. The robots collectively scattered just before Bismuth could smash their weapon onto them. The central robot then aimed it's own weapon and it prepared to fire.

"NO!" Amethyst shouted as they then used their whip and cracked it towards the leader. It ensnared the robots weapon and Amethyst pulled it with all their might, in spite of such the mechanical cannon wouldn't budge.

Instead one of the small cubed robots extended a laser weapon from it's center and began rapid firing tiny balls of plasma at Amethyst who quickly retracted their whip and prepared to dodge.

"I got you!" Pearl said. They sprung in the way of the attack and swiftly began blocking all of the projectiles. Meanwhile Bismuth managed to dodge the blast from the leader. They charged but were blasted from behind by one of the spherical robots.

They cried out in agony, stunned by the blast as the leader then prepared to strike them with their gun. Garnet quickly moved in the way and punched the central bot in the head. Unfazed it simply cracked them in the head with a blow of their own, knocking them into the air and towards the other side of the arena.

"Stop this!" Steven shouted. He then dashed over to the central robot. The two remaining spherical and cube bots each fired at him. Steven summoned his bubble and quickly rolled it to the leader who extended both it's arms and fired another unimaginable powerful blast.

The attack was ear-splitting enough to completely deafen all of the gems. For a brief moment all Steven heard was ringing in his ears as he flew backwards into the sky.

"Steven!" Amethyst shouted. They then prepared to use their whip to latch onto him however they were blasted by the central robot and poofed instantly. The rest of the gems were far to busy struggling against the remaining robots and as a result Steven plummeted through the clouds.

* * *

Steven's senses were dulled. He couldn't see anything but darkness and the piercing ringing was ever present within his ears. Alongside that, he felt as ice crystals begin to form on his skin from the chilling temperatures. They quickly dissipated as he exited the clouds however. His senses also returned to him in this moment and he looked all around him.

Water poured from the skies and he heard the thunder-crack which had been amplified considerably now. In spite of such he could still see in the distance the rotating columns of glowing water that they'd spotted before. As a matter of fact looked much closer than before. He groaned and continued to look around him, noticing that he'd actually been surrounded by the sea.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them Steven now had been accompanied by bird wings. He'd completely shape-shifted into a great falcon this time and now he would begin to make his way towards the origin of this disaster.

He also surrounded himself with his shield, making it into a sort of armor to protect both against the elements and whatever else he may come across. He not only noticed the columns of water but also what looked like hundreds of smaller larger creatures which had been flying around it.

As Steven closed the gap between them he noticed that they were being blasted with incredibly fast glowing blast of water. He also saw white blast which had been directed at the ocean, some of which were larger than others, multiple ones had also shapes such as spherical blast or blast that were in the shapes of cubes.

The closer Steven got the more that he realized that these were new and improved Home-World robots. Just as the robots that he and the gems had been fighting changed in appearance, so too had the robots that had been fighting this underwater force.

Many of them now had new forms. Some were spherical machines with multiple red orbs implanted within them and weapons surrounding them in all directions.

Others had been these elongated dragon shaped robots which appeared to spew forth from their mouths piercing white flames. Other's had been robots that were connected together with top half being humanoid which wielded a staff capable of generating electricity while the bottom half had been in the shape of a bug with a multitude of wings.

Thousands of different forms had been encircling the ocean, each of which attempting to destroy whatever had been launching streams of water at them. As Steven continued his flight he also noticed something else. The water appeared to have these colossal black masses within it. He couldn't see what they were but the moment that he saw one he began more and more accompanying it.

From the black mass in the water he saw a tentacle sprout upwards. It had been the same shape as a standard octopus tentacle however it lacked any suction cups and was as dark as midnight. It'd been directed at Steven who managed to dodge it however more sprouted up and continued to try and ensnare him.

As he dodged these attacks he began to see that the beast under the water had in fact been gargantuan monsters which had been completely made of abominable masses of flesh. Tiny mouths, eyes, and even fingers seemed attached to these masses and Steven watched as they also made their way over to this already congested battle.

"Oh great!" He said to himself as he looked all around and heard the roaring which had now erupted from the seas. It truly looked as though this was the beginning of the end.


	8. Chapter 8: The Sea Dance

Water flooded past his face. His feathers immediately transformed into smooth and slippery skin, and gills emerged on his neck. When Steven opened his eyes, the ocean appeared to him with absolute clarity and with it's beauties came demons.

As a white laser beam of light flew past his face, he nose dived towards the city structure which looked to be the cause of the gargantuan columns up above. In it's center had been a colossal fortress with a dome shape and copious amounts of small lights which littered its frame.

The building itself was accompanied by numerous smaller dome structures; all of which massive enough to reach the sea floor. Steven himself couldn't even tell where the buildings ended as they seemed to continuously progress downwards into the darkness of the sea. The lights of the smaller buildings appeared to all glow at random intervals. Each time they did so several considerably sizable balls of water would gather together and glow. They'd then be fired towards the surface.

Steven approached the city at ludicrous speeds, a cold current wrapped itself around his body; practically forcing him forwards. When he came close enough towards the central dome, a tiny cavity was created for him. Upon his entree, he could only see darkness as it shut behind him.

He was continually pulled however; gaining momentum as water carried him at a faster and faster pace. Before he knew it a new source of blue and red lights met his vision and he was greeted into a new and grand expanse.

It'd been a room with numerous small lights scattered about. Some were spherical and transparent bio-luminescent plant-like creatures. Others were objects that were transparent cuboids in shape, and were capable of self-sustained flight above tall shelves, which themselves seemed to be filled to the brink with metal covered books.

A being stood opposite of Steven, who himself had merely been floating in awe. From it's body protruded four arms, each with a different task, their back sported a single blue gemstone; which itself had been surrounded by the straps of a sea green, blue, and black patterned dress which wrapped around their slender and towering figure.

Their sea-green hair was also a mess, an uncontrollable mass which floated in numerous directions without any care. In front of the imposing figure, hundreds of different square shaped holograms floated about in front of a completely black wall. Each of which surrounded and pointed themselves at the figure as though they'd had life inside of their being. The figure meanwhile gave multiple screens their attention, arms moving rapidly from one screen to the next while it's head remained stationary, a feat which Steven admired.

"What are you doing here?" The sound was clear as a whistle, which was unexpected for Steven considering their depths. The voice also had clear annoyance filling it's tone.

"Are you a fusion?" Steven asked.

The being stopped it's actions. Sound ceased to escape from either of the two. The being then put in another set of commands to the screens before turning around.

The moment their eyes met Stevens he recognized them instantly.

"Peridot! Lapis!" Excitement filled Steven's unintentional shouts which noticeably softened the eyes of the being in front of him.

A smile escaped their lips as their four piercing eyes looked downwards.

"It's... Tourmaline actually." They said in a far smaller voice.

"I can't believe you two fused! That's actually really great!" Steven said. He rushed over to them, his arms wide, and he embraced them tightly. Tourmaline couldn't help but return the favor at the touch of one of their closest friends.

When the two separated, their eyes met once more.

"What are you doing here? It's dangerous!" Tourmaline stated with concern. Steven's eyes then gravitated downwards.

"I uh, got separated from the other gems." He replied attempting to hide his sorrows.

"Oh... Well I'm sorry to hear that, but you know that you're always welcome here." Tourmaline said warmly. Their arms outstretched at the massive expanse around them.

"What... Is this?" Steven asked, his eyes wandering around the great expanse of a room.

"It's Oceanos! We built it! It's like a sort of safe-haven for gems and other things." Tourmaline explained.

"Really? That's pretty cool! But what about the Home-World bots out there?" Steven asked, worry beginning to fill his being as he recounted how dangerous these new ones were.

"Oh yeah them. Well they're a bit annoying but I've got more than enough power to deal with them." Tourmaline said casually. Upon hearing the word 'power' Steven's dread further evolved into bitterness. He swallowed his fist balling up on their own.

"Actually that reminds me..." Tourmaline felt a shiver down their spine upon hearing Steven and his newborn tone.

"Why... Why did you do this!" Steven shouted at them. Tourmaline took a few steps backwards, their smile fading.

"Do what?" They asked.

"You started the storm! I know you did!" Rage plowed it's way through Stevens being as he aggressively took a few steps forward.

"The storm? Oh right." Tourmaline said, their eyes gravitating downwards.

"'Oh right?' You've killed families! You flooded Beach City! You destroyed my home! And all you have to say is 'oh right?!" Steven nearly screamed. His gemstone began glowing as his newfound fury accumulated within his being.

"It wasn't just me! Home-World sent large pillars out of the sky that crashed onto almost every city in the whole world! The Earth was doomed regardless of what I did!" Tourmaline retorted.

"You could've stopped it with the ocean!" Steven said, his body beginning to grow in size. A faint glow emerged from Tourmaline's hands.

"I couldn't have, not that many at once. Steven you need to accept that this is one problem that couldn't have been solved without the mass destruction of the Earth. I was trying to tell you gems that you're too hopeful and don't think enough. This is the reason why." They said in a calm facade.

"No! Everyone was trying to help! You're the one who continued to be negative and hate everyone even though they'd all apologized to you and wanted to work together! At every turn you wanted to find another reason to hate the gems! And now I might never get to see any of my friends again!" Steven bellowed. Spikes began tearing through his skin and shirt in uniform lines along his back, others emerged from his shoulders and even on his elbows.

His teeth began to become sharp and jagged as he doubled and then tripled in size. He looked down at Tourmaline, barely able to see anything but red and his breath was noticeably more heavy.

"Steven... Calm down, I don't want to hurt you." Tourmaline warned. Had he not been in water, tears would streamed down Stevens face. A roar escaped from his mouth, primal instinct taking it's hold on him as he barreled towards Tourmaline.

Water wrapped around his body, fashioning itself into chains and in mere moments Steven was restrained. The chains appeared in overabundance; surrounding all of his limbs and even wrapped around his throat. The grip was enough to choke Steven.

"I'm sorry." Tourmaline said in a near whisper. A small hole, square in shape, opened up beneath Steven's feet. He felt himself being lowered down, darkness covering his vision, as Tourmaline then turned around; returning to their previous work.


	9. Chapter 9: This is Tourmaline

A week's time had passed since Steven's detainment. Tourmaline was once more in the same spot as they were in when it happened. Performing the same actions of absorbing and creating information on the multitude of screens under their command.

The amount of time that they had to relax or work on other projects had diminished substantially as a result of the undertaking that was consistently observing the outside world. As a result of said undertaking they had also gained a large amount of knowledge about what was going on around them. Eventually they put a set of commands within one of the screens and began to speak.

"Log 57. Tourmaline. Hello to any and all that may hear this, though I'm afraid that it may just be me at this point. The world itself appears to have been completely overrun by three great forces, each of which is against one another in a great battle that has been steadily increasing the instability of the very planet on which it is set.

I'm afraid that it must be said that already it is official that nearly all types of species from the kingdom animalia have been extinguished. This includes humans, which up to this point have been thriving on this planet to a far greater extent than any other species in said kingdom.

The extinction of these multiple species can likely be attributed to the great change in environment that the world has undergone since the beginning of this war. I have taken it upon myself to title this the 'War Of Celestials as it appears that the title is fitting for the groups involved..

From what I can gather, the world appears to have been physically divided as a result of the three kingdoms of this war which I will be describing here.

First is my own kingdom of Oceanos. I have managed to secure much of the Western part of the world and it's continents though the Southern and Northern parts of said continents, formerly referred to as 'The Americas' have alluded my grasp. My territory is currently all underwater.

Second is the kingdom Home-World. It appears that this faction is entirely made up of machines that themselves are made up of even smaller nano-machines. These nano-machines are capable of changing their shape and function fairly easily and when brought together are capable of making massive and complex mechanisms whilst being able to alter the shape of said mechanisms at rapid speeds. They also give the impression of being powered by an energy source that can traverse massive distances; through both space and air. How this has been done is also something that alludes me. Regardless, they have taken much of the continents referred to as Asia and Africa, whilst taking the entirety of Europe. The result of such is that they have successfully managed to integrate technology into every facet of the Earth that they reside in. Nano-machines, quite literally, swim through the air in their territories.

The last kingdom,or more so group, in this war of ours is one that I believe I had a hand in creating. This group is as I now call them, 'The Earth's Children'. They were made as a result of an experiment of mine. A device that strips away the hard outer shell of a gem, and strengthens its inner components to a point that allows a fine tune control over matter. I believe this to be the case due to the evidence of the new beings which have begun to appear seemingly from no-where. I myself have witnessed numerous colossal cephalopod creatures with abnormal growths and limbs as well as massive worms which tunnel through cities. Each of these new creatures also have larger growths that glow and vary in color. Upon further study, the inner components and technology that resides within gems has been found within them, further confirming my theory. They hold almost all of the northern and southern halves of the continents and have terra-formed them into a flaming wasteland where even the waters have been turned into combustible oil.

Nevertheless, they have proven quite valuable. I intend to use them as I have recently procured an incredible asset of sorts. With great testing and research, I have found a way to utilize them and bolster my own power. Soon enough I will end the war, and I will be the sole power that controls the Earth..." Tourmaline then shut the holograms off.

They took a sigh of relief before turning around and exiting the room, preparing their chambers for the greatest test that they'd have to face.

 **Hey guys! Guess this is it! Thanks for sticking with me and keeping me motivated to continue writing. I can't wait for the next story! Hopefully I made someone look at this series with a different perspective. Don't worry I'll continue the story but I have a different type of story coming up first. See you guys soon! Thanks!**


End file.
